One advantage of the colony weather controlling bastards is that they don’t give shit enough about the system, and leave the night perfectly dark. No clouds, a very pale moon, pure perfect darkness. I crouch next to Wufei in the shrubs. We’re thirteen meters away from the hotel. The security has been drastically increased; Darlian and his daughter pose a good target for more militant factions, who aren’t afraid to pick up a gun to get their opinions across. I am impressed. Our government has dutifully realized that it’s not very wise to keep security low around the Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth.
The plan is simple; in and out in only seventeen minutes. Damn G and his fucking tight schedule. Damn Quatre and his even more fucking tight planning.
I sigh, hardly audible. This mission is important. I clench my fists. Trowa has kept tabs on the daily routine of the girl, and confirmed that she goes to her room every night to ‘freshen up’ before dinner. It’s the only time of the day the bodyguard... Heero... isn’t with her, as to give her some privacy when she’s busy deciding what to wear. I shake my head. I can’t blame the girl. She probably doesn’t have any clue about real life outside, due to her protective father and her protective bodyguard. It’s all about to change. Wufei secures the piece of rope on his shoulder. He sees the girl as the tool to achieve an objective, as simple as that. I close my eyes, count a few seconds and open them. It’s time. Some of our people are already on the streets outside the hotel shouting yells, trying to distract the Alliance soldiers guarding and pacing outside. A few of the soldiers comment; they get disdainful laughter and more hoots and hollers in return. Suddenly the fire alarm erupts and pierces the night with its wailing sound.
“The signal,” I mouth at Wufei, and he dashes forward. We cover the distance in record time, and knock out the guards on the west side of the building simultaneously. While they slump to the ground, two men of our back up group take their places.
Wufei slaps me on the shoulder, silently wishing me good luck. I focus on the outside wall. It looks like the building is erected from bricks, predating wartime. The cement is loose and crumbly, offering plenty of space to crawl to the second floor. Ornamental ledges on the outside of the walls provide good support for my boots. I have all kinds of clamps in my pockets if necessary; Professor G has adjusted my gloves with more clamps for an even steadier climb. I pull myself up, rope secured on my upper body. I reach the second floor after five minutes, seconds counting in my head. I swing my legs over the balustrade. Thank whomever for solid, predictable, comfortable, and easy to infiltrate architecture. I hear the sirens of the fire engines; so far the trick with the alarm is working. The mob in front of the hotel increases rapidly and I hear loud shouting everywhere. I don’t have time to think about it, the seconds tick mercilessly away. I’m close to the window, and I reach in my pockets for the tool to uplift the pin on the upper side of the wooden frame.
“...and there is nothing more I can offer you.” I hear a male voice. Fuck! Someone is with her! I approach the window, and take stock of the situation. Relena is in the middle of the room, sitting on an embroidered stool, obviously crying. I recognize her bodyguard standing in front of her, his back towards me. His body is rigid from tension; I can see his clenched fists and his overly stiff posture. What the hell? She was supposed to be alone! Damn! Relena searches for her handkerchief, and says something that’s too smothered in tears to be overheard. The bodyguard doesn’t even move, but keeps his attention on the girl. This is a personal conversation. I check the pin of the window frame with my tool and hear a light ‘click’. The pin is off and very slowly, very carefully, I push the window open. The thick curtain muffles the noise, and I silently position myself between the window and the curtain.
“I just… I just can’t believe...” Relena says between her sobs.
“Relena, I understand that this is difficult to take.” His voice… his voice sounds nasal, bored maybe, but I recognize the same intonation Trowa always uses. People like Quatre, and me show our emotions through every word we speak; but not everybody allows their voice to reflect their emotions. I stand as still as a statue. The bodyguard obviously has no intention of leaving, even with sirens, alarms ringing, and people panicking. He must be extremely levelheaded. Great.
“Don’t move.” I sound like a confident burglar; I’m surprised.
He turns around quickly, and I stare in the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. A blue that his fuzzy picture couldn’t show me. Cobalt blue, ocean blue... I can’t find a proper comparison. Blue to drown in, blue to die for. They scream ‘danger’ at me and yet I stand still, in petrified fascination.
“What the hell? How did you get here?”
I yank the gun out of my waistband, and I point it at the girl. Her eyes grow wild, and she gasps – I probably don’t have to stun her, she’ll faint within seconds.
“Lie down and shut up,” I bark. “Get on the floor, now!”
He disobeys me, and doesn’t move. His eyes rake over my body, judging me as if to classify me and to determine which or what threat I pose.
“Get on the floor or the girl gets it.” I’m holding a dart gun, but a gun nonetheless. My voice rumbles. My mood has taken a swing for the worse. Reluctantly, he lowers himself on the carpet floor, even in this movement without taking his eyes off me.
“Stay there!” I snarl. I focus on Relena. “Come here, girl.”
“What?” She shrieks, trembling hands rising to her face.
“Move!” I yell. “There is no time for this!” I take a step forward to yank her arm. I’m almost thrown off balance when an explosion rocks the building. I waver with the gun, and Relena falls to the ground, crying out in fear. In the moment I look at her I detect movement from the corner of my right eye. The bodyguard! He’s jumping towards me! In a split second decision I aim, and fire. He freezes in mid-air, in his jump to catch me with his long, outstretched arms, and collapses on the floor. He raises himself, hand clenching his right arm.
“Who are you?” His voice is low and demanding, growling like an animal about to be caged.
“Just remain calm and nobody gets hurt,” I answer, steadying myself. Relena crawls on the ground to kneel beside the bodyguard, and tries to check his injury. The small dart sticks out from his upper right arm, and bleeds slightly; the narcotic substance rapidly finding its way to the vein. It will work within thirty seconds. With surprising display of strength, he shoves the girl aside, jumps up from his kneeling position, and launches himself at me, his numb arm swinging, his good arm reaching for my throat.
“You haven’t had enough?” I fire again. It hits him in the upper right thigh, and for the second time he collapses on the floor, but this time he doesn’t rise.
“Stop it! Why are you shooting him?” Relena Darlian hurries again to the side of her fallen bodyguard, spreading out her arms as to block me from hitting him.
Fuck! This is taking too much time! Eight minutes and counting... The smoke explosives were my last call- I have to get out of here and fucking well fast too. There is no way she will cooperate to go down to the ground floor. She’s clad in a pink and light purple dress, smocked with lace and embroidery; it wouldn’t survive the descent without being ripped to shreds. Without further thought I fire at her, the last dart hitting her arm, and she sighs audibly before collapsing. Wufei is at the window, whistling like a madman.
“Come on!” He whispers. The smoke creeps under the door and I hear shouting. They’re coming for her and the bodyguard; they’ve probably brought Darlian to safety already. With one swift movement, Wufei scoops up Relena, and slings her over his shoulder, losing her bow in the process. He moves towards the window, and is already halfway out. I hesitate. The bodyguard lying on the floor. Heero.
Rattling at the door. Frantic knocks.
“Miss Relena! Mister Yuy! Come quick! Open the door, please!”
Time has run out. I grab Heero at his upper arms, sling him over my shoulder just like Wufei did Relena, and haul my ass out of the room. Climbing down, I hear the tearing sounds of a door being forcefully opened, followed by surprised screams. My mind works at double speed, and my body at quadruple; it’s not easy descending with a dead weight on your shoulders. Down on the ground, we hurry with our burdens to the getaway truck. Wufei doesn’t comment when he sees me with Heero on my shoulders, but his eyes are visibly displaying question marks. I ignore him, and I know I will have to endure an “endangering-the-mission-what-were-you-thinking-by-bringing-this-guy-anyway” rant later.
It doesn’t matter. We hurry to the truck, climb in, and give the ‘go!’ sign. We leave the premises as fast as the vehicle can carry us. Wufei closes the grate between the driver’s space and, the freight compartment. He puts the girl on a stack of old coats and blankets, and spins around to face me. The bodyguard I am carrying weighs a ton, and I drop him with a whole lot less elegance than Wufei did Relena.
“Why did you bring him?”
I feel a headache coming on, but Wufei deserves an answer. Before I can talk, he launches right into a lecture.
“It was endangering the mission! Maxwell, I thought you had better sense! We do not know who he is, what he can do, and it is dangerous to bring someone like him here! We only need the girl!”
Outside the noise is swelling to a pandemonium. Citizens and civilians have mingled with our group, and use the opportunity to vent their own grievances and frustrations. The Alliance soldiers are having a difficult time pushing the people back, and it looks and smells like a real fire has broken out. This is getting out of hand- this is turning into a massive riot, and it won’t be long before the mobile suits come to regain control with ultimate force. The truck has to drive slowly through the angry crowd; this is not good.
“We have to go back,” I say.
“To bring him back? It’s way too late now, Maxwell!” Wufei is highly irritated. He is not happy with the course of the mission.
“No, for Trowa!” I growl. Fuck! “He isn’t going to make his way through this, and if the mobile suits are deployed...” My fear is confirmed when the ground rumbles with the weight of Leos. The moonlight falls on the fucking huge machines, and when it comes to my mind that a Gundam is so much stronger, and is able to carry more and powerful weapons the goose bumps on my arms multiply in seconds. It’s a scary thought. The truck begins to sway.
“Hold on!” the driver yells. “We have to move fast or we’ll be stopped!”
We both scramble to steady ourselves. We take a position to keep our victims from moving and shoving through the truck. Heero’s head lies on my upper leg, and he snores softly. It would be endearing if we weren’t on the run. Wufei’s face is grim. He’s prepared for everything that might come, and if it’s necessary, he will fight to the death.
My proverbial luck of Maxwell’s Demon is with me tonight. We manage to escape, though it’s painstakingly slow. Too many people are obstructing the road, seizing the opportunity to loot the stores. Police officers and firemen are nowhere to be seen; it’s dangerous with the raging violence of the people on the streets. The Alliance is too unorganized and bureaucratic to react quickly and efficiently on a riot; hopefully with the sound of approaching mobile suits, the mob is wise enough to run and hide.
The driver drops us off one mile before the Underground, and drives away in the opposite direction. Wufei hoists the girl again; I do the same with the bodyguard. We walk in complete silence. I don’t want to have to justify myself for bringing Heero. I’m the leader of this gang, and though I hardly call on my ‘power’, the final decision is in my hands. It was my decision to bring Heero along, and if anybody asks me for a reason... I don’t know the answer.
It takes half an hour before we see some lights. Good ol’ Hilde and some other rebels have gone out searching for us. She’s so relieved she embraces me.
“God, Duo! You made it back!”
“What is it, Hilde?” I shift my burden. She looks at me quizzically, but answers my question. “We intercepted some emergency frequencies. From what we heard, there’s a massive riot going on. The city’s burning, and we were afraid you wouldn’t make it. Quatre, G, and Sally are frantic!”
“Let’s go inside,” Wufei interrupts us. Hilde walks next to me when we enter the Underground, and we pass the first abandoned houses. Her reaction strengthens my resolve. I leave no one behind. Some of our back-up group, who initiated the skirmish, have already returned, and cheer when they see us. A group of women, obviously waiting, rush to us to ask for information. I spot Catherine immediately. Her eyes are filled with fear, I couldn’t ask for more. Trowa hasn’t returned... yet. If you have taken him, Shinigami, I will make sure that.. My thoughts are lost in the sounds. G, somewhere behind Catherine, leaves the area after satisfying himself that his mission was carried out successfully. Quatre approaches me while Chang Meiran hugs her husband, despite the girl he is carrying.
“Duo! You’re here!”
“Present,” I grin. “Mission accomplished.” I turn my head to look for Catherine, but she has disappeared. Before I can ask about Trowa, Quatre cuts me off.
“We have a room secured for the girl... but I see we need another room.”
“Eh, yeah,” is my comment, and for a moment I swear Quatre grins at me.
“We’ll discuss this later,” he belies my thoughts, sounding stern. He turns around, and issues orders like a general. In contrast to the Alliance, we are organized- thanks to him, and Sally in particular. Everybody who has no business elsewhere scrambles to carry out the orders.
Wufei is being lead with his charge to the original secured room. I see Hilde again, and flash her a V-sign. She waves frantically back and moves towards me, but another woman demands her attention rather loudly. Heero gets heavier with the minute, and I follow Quatre to a basement room in the university.
“From what Trowa told us, he’s an one-man-army, as you put it, Duo,” he says. “This room will do for now. I have guards posted here.”
“Did you hear anything from Trowa yet?”
“No. But he’ll return, I’m sure of that.”
“I hope so,” is my meek response. Quatre looks at me with his blue eyes. Also blue eyes. Why does every man around me have blue eyes? They reflect every possible emotion... especially from an empathic person like Quatre.
“What did we tell you about trust and trusting us?” he asks.
“No offense Quatre, but you’re planning missions in a shelter with a roof over your head, and a cup of tea present,” I snap. “You’re not on the streets. It was really getting nasty out there. Citizens, and civilians were meddling and it turned into a riot, as you heard. If Trowa hasn’t made it out of the building fast enough, he’ll get caught in the mass counter-attack of the Alliance. Need I say we encountered mobile suits on their way to the city?”
He draws his mouth into a tight line. “We’ll watch the news later on.”
He walks away, and I curse my rapidly pounding head, and myself. Think first! I am right, though- Quatre Winner is used to thinking out his plans in the relative protection of his room- he doesn’t see, nor encounter the people outside on the streets. You can plan the mission specs as much as possible- but you can’t predict human reaction. I dump Heero unceremoniously on the hard floor. This room isn’t that far located away from my own, and it was used for storage purposes. The walls show visible signs of once attached shelves and racks. The wood has long been since removed, and it’s been stripped of everything inside. The small row of windows on the east side is too small to let a human or even a child pass through, but provides a little bit of fresh air. Heero lies in front of me, on his back, his head lolled to the side. His white blouse is torn at the upper side of his right arm, and a bit spotted by the blood caused by the dart. A stain on his spotless image. He breathes evenly, chest rising and falling. He’ll be in a nightmare when he wakes up.
I almost cry with relief when I see Trowa in the conference room, four agonizing hours later. I was so worn down from the mission that I took a little nap and when I woke up, there was warm food waiting for me- a large helping of potatoes, and some chicken meat. I think it was chicken, anyway. I hug Trowa, and pat him on the back. The tension is lessened with his return. Quatre’s also relieved. Wufei compliments him, and Sally simply smiles. G stands in the corner of the room, gazing at us as if he doesn’t belong to the group.
“Where were you? How did it go? How did you get out of there?” I hurry to ask him.
Trowa quirks a smile, he looks a little bit smug.
“After setting off the fire alarms, I went to the basement to detonate the smoke bombs. I wasn’t bothered because of the panic and confusion. They went after Darlian first, and brought him to safety. After the minutes elapsed, I set the bombs and went upstairs.”
His eyes turn sad. “Alliance soldiers were already in, hindering the fire-men. It was pretty obvious the alarm was set off on purpose, and they were frantically searching for the one who pulled the stunt. I played stupid; me being only the dishwasher. Fortunately, I had drying cloths with me, so they swallowed my story. I was ordered to go to the kitchen and stay there with the other personnel until they came for interrogation.”
“Interrogation?”
“Two guards on the west side of the hotel weren’t responding properly. They were pretty fast aware that something wasn’t right.”
“What about our men?”
“I haven’t heard from them after the smoke bombs went off,” Trowa says. He slumps his shoulders. “Alliance soldiers started to fire at the mob outside, and it went out of hand. All kinds of reports were coming in: looting, fire, and people obstructing police. The military didn’t know where to give priority to after they brought Darlian away. People were everywhere, and after the soldiers discovered Darlian’s daughter was gone, it went straight to hell. I took advantage of the commotion to get out.”
“Well done,” G applauds, his voice scratching like nails on a chalkboard. “Nice to know that someone sticks to his mission specs.”
Trowa turns to me, clearly confused. “What? Were you absent-minded again?”
Before I can answer, Quatre decides to come to my rescue.
“Duo decided at the last moment to bring the bodyguard along.” He looks at me, eyes dead serious, but also with this strange trust. “I know Duo doesn’t do something without a good reason. If he thought the bodyguard weren’t important, he wouldn’t have brought him. Am I right, Duo?”
Joy of joy, that’s all I need. Quatre asks me for an explanation in front of everyone. I rattle out the first thought to pop up in my mind.
“No witnesses. It would be suspicious if we left him behind. By taking both of them, we demonstrated our... uh.. possibilities to...” My voice trails off. They look at me as if I’ve grown a second head. Trowa shrugs, his calm way of acceptance. Sally looks like she doesn’t know if she should laugh, or just tell me I’m plain stupid. Quatre has this strange, startled expression, but I see the corners of his mouth crinkle upwards. I’m glad Wufei isn’t here; he would have told me off, just like our previous mission. I’m surprised G isn’t using the moment to fully express his displeasure with me; lecturing me about the dangers. In fact, when I look at him he stares at me with a strange, almost sad look in his eyes.
“G?” I finally ask.
The professor seems to be shaken out of his thoughts.
“It was very dangerous, and I don’t see why you should have brought him.” His voice lacks the sharpness of his earlier remark. Silence falls. G’s been acting pretty strange lately, and I wonder if I have to talk to him. Sally decides to put in her two cents.
“I hope he won’t pose a problem, Duo. It really was reckless, taking him with you. Well, there is nothing we can do about it now, obviously. He’s here, and I’m going to check on the two of them to make sure there are no side effects from the tranquilizers.”
“I’ll call for two more men to accompany you.” Quatre offers and rises from his chair.
“I’ll go with you, Sally.” I’m curious about our captives. Sally nods. Nobody questions my authority, and professor G even averts his eyes. I decide I really have to talk to him. Outside in the hallway, we encounter Wufei who volunteers to go with us, and we walk to the north wing of the university.
Relena Darlian is awake when we visit her. She is being held in a fairly large room with barricaded windows, and with only one guard at the door. I seriously doubt the girl will attempt to escape, seeing her earlier frightened behavior.
“Who are you?” She screams when we enter the room. Sally approaches her, and she flinches hard and jumps away, sending her chair crashing to the floor.
“Don’t touch me! Go away! Where is Heero? Where am I? What do you want from me?”
Her voice isn’t really pleasant at this volume, and the fearful cries hurt my ears. Wufei glares at her.
“Stand still, woman, and let the doctor examine you.”
“Doctor? Examine? What did you do to me? To Heero?” She finally spots me, standing behind Wufei, who is a bit taller than me.
“You!” She screams, as she would possibly do seeing a terrible vile bug. “You did this to me! What do you want from me?”
She stands still as ordered, probably because it’s a woman. Sally examines the place where the dart entered, and pulls back the clothing.
“Everything is fine,” she says, and starts to leave the room. Relena yanks at her arm, crying.
“No! Don’t go!”
“Please stay, Sally,” I ask the doctor. As another female, she can provide a bit of comfort to the girl. I focus on her.
“Relena Darlian, you’re in the Underground with the Maxwell’s Demon Gang, as we’re called. I’m Duo Maxwell, this is Chang Wufei, and the good doctor here is Sally Po. We’re a resistance group, and I’m sorry to inform you, but we want to use you, and the influence of your name for our plans.”
“What the...” Her eyes couldn’t get any bigger. “Resistance? Demon... What?” Tears start to form in her eyes. “Father... where is Heero? Why... why did you do this to me? I...”
“I would offer you some water, but our supplies are limited.” Sally is her old, practical self. “However, I will make sure you get something to eat and to drink. You will stay here, until our goals are met, as Duo will explain to you.”
“Goals...what... you want to ask ransom for me?” She isn’t stupid. Her mind already races to adapt to the situation. Her tears stop flowing and she rubs at her face to remove the stains.
“No ransom,” I explain. “Sorry, Relena, but we want to use you to get attention for our situation.”
“What situation?” She baffles me with her question.
“Nothing really serious,” I answer, sarcasm dripping from my voice. “The Alliance oppression of the colonies. The social chaos created by the stupidity of the same Alliance, when they severed communications between colonies. Their counter-attacks with violent military force to every possible objection to their so-called reign of peace and justice. That situation.”
“Alliance oppression...” She repeats it, tastes it like something completely new. She narrows her eyes to slits. “Father came here to help you build a new society. It’s widely known that you can’t take care of yourselves!”
“You better watch what you say around here, pretty lady.” I raise my voice. “People here have suffered immensely from your precious Alliance. If you just shut up, and let us have your way with you, no harm will come to you.”
“I want to make a phone call,” she demands. “I want to contact my father. I want to see Heero.”
“We don’t have telephones, lady,” I answer her tiredly. “Electricity is cut short on the colony after ten. We don’t have working telephone terminals. We’ll get in contact with your father to let him know you’re safe here, and then we’ll let him know about our demands.”
“This is an outrage! You expect me to stay here?”
Wufei leads Sally out of the room. “You don’t have a choice.” It’s all he says, but it serves to quiet her. She looks at me with this bewildered expression on her face; a strange mixture between fear, despair, and plain anger.
“There’s nothing for you to do at this moment but sit and wait.” I turn around to leave the room. “I’ll see to it that you’re provided with something to eat and drink, and that nobody harasses you in any way.”
I don’t know if she wants to comment on that, because I shut the door, and leave her alone.
Chapter 3 | Chapter 5