Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 2 Reign ❯ Bits and Pieces ( Chapter 26 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Kyeian

Chapter Twenty-Six: Bits and Pieces

Wufei jumped off the bed when I moved into the room, turning on me, ready to fight. His expression looked a little wild, and it took me a moment to realize what might have happened to make him look so scared or so jumpy…

I stared at him in dismay.

He gave me a slightly mocking grin as he sat on the bed again, covering his face with his hands, resting his elbows on his knees.

“God, Wufei…I'm sorry,” I muttered, not sure what else to tell him.

“What the fuck ever,” he snapped, “Nothing happened.”

“What?”

“Jun came in here all pissed off last night…we ended up fighting.”

“Did he hit you with sedative again?”

“Oh, no, but next time he comes in he's gonna have me tied up.”

“Fuck,” I muttered, setting the food by him.

“Yeah, really,” he turned and opened the bag, shaking his head before meeting my eyes. I could see he was near tears, but had no idea what to do or say.

“I gave Duo back the ring,” I muttered instead, watching as he started to eat and sitting down, “Reality, Citadel, and Marionette have fallen.”

“Jaded?”

“Jesse's taken off,” I muttered, “They're working on Pain now.”

“When are they getting me out of here?”

“They have to close down Gray Day and Endgame.”

“Duo's said before that Endgame is a serious threat…I know Gray Day is small potatoes…but Endgame…”

“They're working on it,” I muttered, “I think Duo's been going ahead of the main group and killing off the necessary evils.”

Wufei nodded, eating slowly.

“Jun should get distracted by them soon,” I suggested, “Maybe he'll leave you alone.”

“And maybe you'll waltz me out of this building right now.”

“Be optimistic, Wufei,” I reprimanded.

He gave me a look.

“I'd think about it, but it's a shift change, meaning there are twice as many people in the building.”

“I'm glad to know you care so much. I'm sure Selena will forgive you for letting me get raped.”

“We all do what we can,” I snapped, frustrated, “I'm not even part of this!”

“So why are you even bringing me food?” he snapped.

“Good question!” I snapped back, rising to my feet, “Why do I even bother!”

“I can see why Selena never mentioned that you were her brother,” he snarled.

Irritation bled through my system before shame joined it and I paused, halfway across the room and looked at him again, “I can't do anything about Jun right now…short of killing him.”

“Then do it,” he replied, “I'll pay you for it.”

I studied him a long moment and shook my head, “You don't understand, I'm living here in the building as well. Every one of the lower halls is packed with cameras. He doesn't wire up the living quarters, but there'd be no way for me to get you past the fourteenth floor…and no way in hell I could actually kill Jun. I have no weapons here in the building.”

“I'm a Gundam Pilot, Keith.”

“Even you were forced to be docile when your enemies caught you. Even the king. Until the numbers are in our favor, nothing can be done for it.”

He looked away from me.

“I'll do what I can to keep Jun distracted from you—but you know how fuckin' obsessed he is.”

“Just go.”

I didn't hesitate to listen.

“I'll be dancin' on his grave when the sun comes up tomorrow,” I sang happily, tapping my hunting knife on the wall as I walked, “I'll be croonin' out a love song and playin' my har-mony, because I killed him…he fucked me over and I killed him…take my love to lover's peak and throw her down the ledge, watch her fly and scream and cry and bounce there at the end…”

The door at the end of the hall was flung open and Heather Malone stepped into the hall, leveling her gun at me. It had been the previous leader of Gray Day, Donovan Charles, who had hired Keith to kill Kayla. When I'd killed Donovan, I'd left Heather alive—no more women would die because of syndicate bullshit if I could help it. She'd taken control of the syndicate, and it had been doing modestly well.

And this woman was terrified of me because she'd watched me kill the five or so people who had been around her.

“Because she cheated on me with him,” I spoke more than sang the next lines of the song, “And broke my heart in two…and if that's how it is in the end…then she and I are through.”

“Morbid song, Cat.”

“I was rather fond of it, though I don't feel for the story.”

“Why are you here?” she demanded, still aiming at me.

“I just wanted to let you know that you'd be better off to surrender.”

“To you?”

“Oh my goodness, no. What the hell would I do with you? You'll see, though.”

“How many people did you kill on the way up?”

“None…on purpose. I knocked out a few handfuls.”

“Stop where you are,” she snapped, though her tone wasn't even certain enough to make me respond.

What I did do, though, was stop within arms reach of her and point the muzzle toward the ceiling, “You want me to pay for counseling?”

Her eyes were half-full of tears and she let the gun go, staring at me, “What do you want?”

“I told you. It will be better for you if you surrender.”

She swallowed, studying me as if unsure as to what I meant.

I studied her pistol a moment before offering it to her again, “I have no use for this.”

“Kill me if you're going to,” she muttered, “Don't play these games.”

“I have no reason to kill you. I would have done it already if I did. In a couple of hours, there will be some people here you don't want to tango with, so I suggest you let Gray Day fall.”

She stared at me.

“See, that was painless.” I muttered, starting to back away with a grin, “Just don't make me kill you, huh, pretty-lady?”

She didn't respond.

I winked at her and started down the stairs.

Heero was waiting for me, after all.

Duo came around the corner with a grin on his face and his hands in his pockets. He walked up to Trowa again, leaning against him…again.

“I'm glad to see nothing went amiss,” Trowa noted, shifting slightly to accommodate Duo better.

“You didn't hurt her, did you?” Heero asked, frowning.

“Of course not. She's scared of the sight of me.”

“You're one sick fucker,” I informed him, having a feeling he enjoyed that particular type of control.

His eyes sparkled as he studied me, “As if you don't like it.”

“I don't do what you do.”

“No, when I dominate you.”

“Knock it off,” Heero snapped before I could say anything, “We can't start squabbling with each other now…especially over something so stupid.”

Duo grinned and shrugged at me, resting his head against Trowa's shoulder.

Trowa rolled his eyes slightly, but didn't protest.

“Sire, the preparations are made.”

“All right,” Heero muttered to Fellinger, who had come up behind him, “Let's get this over with.”

“Sir.”

We watched the man walk away quickly.

“I'm gonna go start playing in Endgame,” Duo muttered, pushing away from Trowa, “There are some gnarls there that need taken care of.”

“You better not get yourself killed,” Heero snapped, pointing at him, “I'll kick your ass if you do.”

“That's all sorts of fucked up, Heero.”

Heero smirked slightly at him.

“How about if I get hurt? Will you hurt me if I get hurt?”

“Knock it off!” Heero snapped, smacking at him.

Duo started to laugh, but it trailed off as he focused past us at a series of skyscrapers in the distance.

“In there, huh?” Trowa asked.

“One of them,” Duo agreed, “On Jaded's side.”

We all studied the buildings.

“We'll have to take that building first or they may use him against us,” Heero noted needlessly.

“It's been a week and a half,” Duo muttered, his expression going unreadable.

“Is he even still alive?” I muttered, feeling the fear in my stomach that I knew we all must be feeling.

“According to Keith,” Duo muttered.

“Can we really trust him?”

“I think we can,” Heero muttered, “He has his sister to think about. She cares for Wufei, and even if she didn't, she cares about Duo. If Duo flips out again, there's a high likelihood that we'll have to sedate him.”

“And this is a fine topic of discussion because I'm not standing here.”

Heero met his eyes, “We have tranquilizer, Duo. If you become a danger to yourself or others, we will sedate you.”

Duo stared at him in amazement, speechless for once.

“I don't like it, but that's the way it is. You completely destroyed that waiting room at the hospital before I got back when Kayla died. You know you've been unstable since then, and if my nightmare comes true and we lose Wufei, I can't say you will remain fully sane.”

Duo was shifting back from us now.

“I don't say this to scare you or hurt you. I say this because I want you to know what we all see, I want you to know why we've been treating you differently since you showed up again. The way you think and react to things is completely different than what we knew before. You know that we would never hurt you on purpose, but we will sedate you.”

“What do you want me to say to that?” he snapped.

“Nothing,” Heero replied, “We're getting down to the wire here and I've noticed you controlling yourself.”

Duo looked completely at a loss.

Heero swallowed, still studying his eyes.

“Now you respond again,” I suggested, gesturing at him, “So we know what you think of all this.”

Duo focused on me, and for a moment—just that moment, I saw the Duo who didn't know how to respond.

“We won't have to use it, Duo,” Heero muttered, moving up to stand in front of him and touch his face so Duo focused on him, “Because we won't lose Wufei.”

Duo turned his head away from Heero a moment before regaining himself and stepping at Heero, “Just tie me up, that'd be fun.”

Heero gave ground willingly, raising his hands up to ward Duo off.

“Maybe some cuffs,” Duo added, lowering his head slightly, “Can you see that, Heero? Me in cuffs?”

“I like the idea of you sedated much better,” Heero admitted.

“Either way,” Duo leaned in close to Heero's face, studying his lips a moment, “'d you like me helpless, Heero?”

“You know I would,” Heero returned, not backing away, “I like when you obey me, too.”

Duo laughed slightly, “That is kinda fun, huh?”

“Yeah, now back off before I remind you that I'm straight.” Heero tapped Duo's inner thigh with his knee.

Duo laughed, backing away quickly.

Heero couldn't help his grin as he met all our eyes, then he focused on Duo again.

Duo grinned.

“Gray Day just…folded.” Jun took a drink of his cocktail, “I thought Heather had more fortitude than that…”

“Heather is terrified of the Cat because he killed Donovan in front of her.”

Jun shook his head, taking a larger drink, then reached for a silver box at the back of his bar.

“You don't want to be doing that,” I muttered, catching his wrist, “Drugs won't help.”

“I'm having a very bad day, Ace, don't be helpful.”

“Then lose yourself in the oblivion of drink,” I suggested, “Knock yourself out with alcohol and take a much-needed break.”

“I was going to go see Wufei.”

“He'll still be there when you wake up.”

Jun thought about that, starting to shake his head.

“Weren't you trying to start a relationship with him?” I asked as if the idea had just reoccurred to me, “Getting high and raping him won't do much to help that.”

“He's already made it clear that he's not interested.”

“He did that a long time ago, Jun. You can't honestly tell me you only just now realized it. You tried to have him killed for God's sake.”

He grumbled at that, taking another shot.

“Here,” I muttered, digging out bottles, “I'll make you something.”

“It won't make me too hung-over to think in the morning, will it?”

“Nope,” I muttered. Then “accidentally” dropped the cap to one bottle and bent down to retrieve it and a tranq-pill I'd dropped from my pocket moments before. I recapped the liquor and dumped the tranq in with the next bit of alcohol I poured—I was doing all this in a shaker and it wasn't the first time it'd worked. The pill was strong and dissolved quickly.

“What is it?”

“It doesn't have a name yet,” I lied, pouring it all over ice, “It's something I use to knock myself out once in a while.”

“Ah,” he hesitated to take it from me, then did so and downed half the glass in one gulp.

Well, that burned.

He gasped and coughed a moment before blinking at me, “What the hell is in this?”

“You saw everything I put in it…you were watching me.”

He grinned slightly, downing the second half and breathing a few minutes.

“You may want to go sit down,” I suggested, “That's a lot of shit to hit your body at once.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, walking over to the couch and sitting heavily.

“All we have to do now is wait for Endgame to start fighting back,” I muttered, “That will be interesting to see.”

“Yeah,” Jun agreed, laying over sideways on the couch, “There's no way some half-assed assembled hodgepodge of wanna be soldiers can stand up to Endgame.”

“Even with the Gundam Pilots leading the way,” I muttered.

Jun laughed a bit at that, “You know…I keep forgetting about that.”

“They're good at hiding it.”

“Yeah…” he let out a heavy sigh.

I watched as the tranquilizer worked through his system and grinned, rising to my feet and stretching before pulling a bell-pull. It took a moment for servants to come in, but I indicated their boss with a slight grin and shook an empty glass at them.

I doubted that ploy would work again with how Jun would feel in the morning. But at least I gave Wufei one more day.

He owed me big.

“Duo, I think it's time…oh, hi, Selena.”

“Good morning, Heero.” Selena stretched, then realized she wasn't dressed and covered herself with a sheet.

“What time is it?” I asked, turning the clock to face me and read that it was seven, “Shit, are we moving?”

“Not quite yet, I just thought we should eat,” Heero muttered, studying Selena and I a moment before smiling at her, “Where have you been?”

“Finding the weak-point in Jun's system.” Selena explained with a slight shrug. She still seemed embarrassed that Heero had walked in on us.

“And?”

“And I'm naked under the sheets,” she gave him a look.

“I have no problem with that, do you?” Heero grinned at me.

I threw my pillow at him, laughing as I climbed from the bed myself.

“Okay! I'm going!” Heero pulled the door shut after him.

“That was…interesting,” Selena noted, giving me a look.

“I came on to him the other day, and instead of just telling me to stop he played along a bit. He didn't mean anything by it, but he doesn't want to give me ideas.”

She giggled, shaking her head at me as she climbed from the bed, “You're such an asshole.”

“Yeah, but I love you anyway.”

She froze, turning to look at me in amazement.

I smiled, leaning in to kiss her before starting to gather my clothes.

That really was painless.

“Well, that was entertaining,” Heero muttered as he sheltered behind a brick wall with the rest of us. He'd just ran across the street to get to us and nearly been shot several times.

“I was rather amused,” I agreed, smiling at him.

“Hush, you.”

I laughed.

“The line is moving in,” he added, pointing down the road we were on and covering his face as a mortar round hit the building over our head and we were showered with brick-crumbs. “It won't be long until it folds here.”

“Good, because I'm tired of this place and part of this building is about to collapse on us,” Duo muttered, pointing up, “Bring in the big-guns, Heero. You know your airmen are dying to get out.”

“No, that's my present for Jun,” Heero muttered, “I don't want to ruin the surprise.”

We all grinned at that and a man came up beside us, “The far-line is moving in, Sir.”

“Very well,” Duo replied, cocking his gun and grinning slightly, “I think it's time we had a run, Heero.”

Heero's laughter turned evil.

“You gotta watch this,” I muttered to the guy, “Ready, Q?”

“When you are.”

“It's six, right?”

“Yes…six and four.”

“Let's go then.” I winked at the man who was even more confused now, then darted out into the middle of the street, stopping and starting to fire. My shots were fairly random and more to bring out who was in the building across from us than to do any damage.

Quatre started shouting numbers, and I dodged across the street.

…and then Heero and Duo stepped out as Quatre continued counting off. The pair stood side by side and barely seemed to be taking aim as they fired at those men who had just showed themselves to shoot me. Quatre's numbers were coordinates of a grid, set up by the floors and windows of any building: six and four.

“And down!” Quatre shouted.

The pair of them dodged across the street as another mortar round landed in the middle of the road by us.

“You know, the tax-payers are going to be pissed,” Duo noted, studying the rather large hole.

“We knew this would happen. There's a fund,” Heero reassured him.

The man who'd been reporting was staring across the street at us all in sick amazement.

“Again?” Heero asked me.

“Of course, your Majesty,” I muttered.

He bowed as if giving me right of way.

I laughed and darted out again, wondering how long it would take our opponents to realize what we were doing.

“We should be able to move up soon,” I muttered to the guy as Quatre started his count.

“At least this block…we'll have to check the side-streets.”

“That's a given,” I dismissed that, “Get your men ready for a sweep.”

“Yes, Sir.” he ran off.

I laughed, turning back to Heero and Duo again, wondering what our enemy thought of it. We'd done this before, during the wars…it had been ages. It always seemed to work, too. Nothing like your enemy popping into the open to get a good shot in…

“And down!” Quatre shouted again.

Duo and Heero dodged in with us, and Heero brought up his walkie, “Bring a tank over here, we've got an issue with mortar rounds that's getting on my nerves.”

“I knocked him out for you last night.”

“Gee, thanks,” I muttered, frowning at Ace, “What the fuck is going on?”

“You know, I haven't a clue,” he replied breezily, moving to the windows, “It's on the other side of the city.”

“Endgame?”

“Most likely,” he agreed, then smiled at me, “Which means that in a day or so you'll be out of here.”

“That will be nice,” I muttered, taking another bite.

“I don't suppose I can get some…monetary compensation for this, can I?”

I gave him a level look, then rolled my eyes, “Just don't try and wipe me out.”

“You? I was thinking government.”

“Which means you'd have to go tell the entire world what you were doing in this building while I sat up here…and I have no intentions of this breaking public.”

“Ah, I see.”

“You may be able to get more cash off of Duo, though.”

“As if I'd even ask him.”

“I can ask him, or tell him, rather.”

“He's sorta hooking up with my sister again,” Ace bit his lip as he looked at me again.

“That's nice?”

“Okay, clue me in here, because this is making no sense. You wore his ring for years on your wedding finger…under your engagement ring…he's starting a relationship with my sister and they might get married…what about you?”

“What about me?” I returned, raising an eyebrow, “You don't understand the specialized nature of my relationship with Duo. I don't think there's any way in hell he and I could be a couple, but he's my pillar. I rely on him and he relies on me. He gives me the support and trust I need and I give him anything he wants.”

“That's just dirty,” he muttered.

“Amazingly, not everything is about sex.” I gave the guy a level look.

He smirked at me, rising to his feet, “It is when you haven't had a girl in while.”

“I suppose. I don't have any particular urge to think about sex right now.”

He gave me an understanding look, “Yeah, really…later.”

“See ya,” I muttered, taking the last bite of the sandwich.

I'd never be able to eat a fucking sandwich again.

I considered his question about payment. He really had been very helpful, and he'd even drugged Jun for me. Of course, he'd killed someone I considered my little sister and would probably die at the hands of one of my brothers…but he was getting me food and trying to help…

Duo would help me, even if he abhorred the guy, because I had something over him that he didn't quite have over me.

I was considered a bitch.