Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Above You ❯ Chapter 10

Ten

The dark box helped a helluva lot.

Duo kept his head turned inwards to lower the chance of light reflecting from his helmet. He and Heero were standing on the edge of the box—it was taller and wider than them—holding onto the strapping Trowa and Wufei had secured. Wufei was at the end of the box, and Quatre was with Trowa on the far side. Launching the crate from the ship with them all on it had been mildly complicated, but nothing they couldn't all handle.

The shuttle doors slid open, and Duo let go almost at the same time as Heero. The lack of anything resembling friction kept his body in motion as Heero hit the wall. Duo caught himself before he could crush his friend, then turned and grabbed Wufei...or would have. Evidently, though, Wufei had been riding underneath the thing, because he used his legs to stop his momentum before the door.

The box moved inside, and the doors slid shut as Duo looked across the opening to Quatre and Trowa. They all considered each other a moment, then Quatre shoved slightly so he sailed across the opening. Duo caught him, then Trowa, and they all waited as Wufei climbed carefully to join them, then pointed questioningly in a direction.

Duo nodded, making sure the others had hand handholds before starting to move.

He'd have loved to have some form of communication with his friends, but they had no idea how sensitive the equipment of the colony was. They were pretty sure the outside sensors were the very basic, which meant they may not be spotted—but there was also a chance that they'd get in and find a shit load of men with weapons after crossing into the sealed section.

They moved on.

The nice thing about the port having been walled off was that it would only seal if the air-seal broke. The thing was brittle, and there was no telling what would wreck it...or that had been the verdict. Duo was pretty sure it wouldn't be any worse off than some of the seals on some of the ships he'd ridden in. That meant it probably had years before it'd actually fail, and by that point they'd probably have gotten around to replacing it.

Like all colonies, there was a built-in emergency entrance. This was a door that was secured and air-locked but could be opened from the outside. It was a safety catch for any workers who may have fallen or gotten sucked out of the port. The port itself hadn't changed from the outside...just on the inside, and after they got into the air-sealed sections of the building they could go into the vents and go into the colony.

This, of course, was completely dependant on the interior security.

They had no idea what they were really getting themselves into. Duo'd found the list of residents of the colony while he was trollin' for information—it was a list that Noin and her people had been working on. Almost all the general civilians had left the place. Everyone listed as living there was associated with veteran groups...a bunch of crazy-ass war-ricks with nothing better to do than plot an uprising...and led by none other than Rabid-Marsh.

Rabid-Marsh was a colonel who'd been discontent since the wars had been ended. He'd been one of the men who'd filed a complaint against Heero and Duo before they'd all gotten out of ranks. Rabid-Marsh was used to getting his way, and evidently had been in several fights against all the Gundam pilots. He'd lost good men to them, he'd said, and he'd thought it a crime against humanity that the five teens hadn't been dangling from the gallows for their war crimes.

Finding out that he'd defected wasn't nearly as shocking to him as it would be to others...like Noin. When Noin realized it was him...but she'd seen the videos. He'd been seen in the prisoner room. She knew already...at least if she recognized him she had. He hadn't at first, and neither had Heero, so maybe she wouldn't...and when they brought her the scanned list from Matty's phone...

That was sort of sad, really. Noin had called the man a friend and now he was working against her...maybe not in the worst of ways, but...

The line halted as they reached one of the moving bits of the colony. It wouldn't be hard to get across it, but they'd have to be careful not to get catapulted into deep space...and to catch the bit on the far side...and other such nonsense that they'd all done before.

Though...he didn't feel invincible anymore, and the whole notion was making him wary.

Heero climbed around Quatre and Wufei carefully, letting go of the colony as Wufei grabbed him...and shoved him.

It was one of those moments where your heart stops or starts beating so fast it feels like it stops...because he missed his first grab of the bar...and his second grab wasn't firm...Duo was about to launch after him when he finally caught the thing and stopped his motion with a jerk...and hung there a moment. Finally, he righted himself and turned to look at them with interest.

Wufei let go of the colony as Quatre moved forward and grabbed him...then shoved him. After a moment, Trowa'd tossed Quatre as well. Wufei had hooked his feet below the bar they were all clinging to and was almost standing straight-out from the colony...but that was more a reassurance, because that meant someone would catch them.

Duo caught Trowa's wrist after he'd let go and shoved.

He didn't really appreciate being last, but he'd have approved less of Trowa or Quatre being after. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he knew it was truth enough.

He licked his lips as he judged the distance, then pulled one leg up to anchor his foot under the bar, aiming himself as best he could at Wufei...and pushed off.

He really liked earth...and gravity...and friction...he really did. Inertia was overrated...completely.

He hit Wufei, who grinned at him—he had to grin back at that, because as freaky as it was to think about flying into outer space with nothing to save you...there was a damn thrill involved in infiltrating an enemy.

Wufei used his feet to start himself moving again, catching the bar before half-shoving Duo playfully at the colony.

Duo caught the bar and shook his head minutely as Heero jerked his head in question—were they ready? Yes, they were...time to move again.

He...didn't ever...really...want to do this again, Duo noted thoughtfully to himself. As much adrenaline was involved in infiltration, he rather liked the less bloody forms that adrenaline junkies could pursue...walking a tight-rope over the grand canyon, sky diving from the tip of the Eiffel Tower...jumping into huge holes or going to watch for volcanoes...those things didn't have men waiting for you with guns—most of the time—those things hadn't taken nearly so many lives...

It was too damn quiet...next time he decided to go on a fucking space-walk, he was bringing his meo—they were meant for men who worked in the vacuum and were space-proof. That'd totally be better than considering the more...uh...he grinned to himself...entertaining...ways to get yourself killed. Besides, he'd lived through two wars before he was twenty. This wasn't even a war—it was just an unclassified disaster.

Ah well, as Wufei'd said...all for the love of one sweet boy...love, lust, or friendship, whatever it was.

Hell, at least they were in the L-5 cluster. Wufei'd gone willingly, almost eagerly...that counted for something...Duo just wasn't sure what.

- -

"You must be pretty proud of yourself."

Matty jumped at Ranger's voice over his shoulder.

"You worked a good one over on Marsh, huh?" he muttered. "Got him to believe you, have J running around hen-pecking for you...got it all figured out—but when it comes down to the wire, I'm gonna be there, and you're not going to be calling the shots."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Matty informed him, meeting his eyes.

Ranger rested his hand around Matty's arm...and was doing the squeezing thing again. "Your innocent eyes may get J, but I'm not nearly so swayed. I've dealt with more'n enough pretty boys to tell the liars from the rest."

"Ow..." Matty dropped the blanket he'd been picking up, trying to pry the man's hand away from his arm. "Ow..."

"So you just keep playing your game..."

"Ow!" Matty gasped, giving up as the grip tightened, pulling away and trying not to let his knees give out on him. "Jaden!"

Ranger's eyes narrowed sharply.

"Ranger!" Jaden shouted from across the room.

"Damn it, Ranger!" another man, a guy who sounded like he had more authority. He stormed across the room and yanked hard on Ranger's arm...which pulled Matty over since Ranger wasn't ready for it and hadn't let go.

"Shit..." Jaden muttered irritably, darting around to help Matty up. "What the fuck, Ranger?"

The man who'd grabbed Ranger kicked the man solidly in the thigh...which made him topple over sideways before the guy focused on Matty. "You all right, kid?"

"I think so," Matty returned, rubbing at his arm.

Jaden grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pushed it up, his eyes narrowing.

"Way to go, Range," the man snarled, turning Matty forcefully so his arm was obvious. "Way to fucking go..."

"What?" Matty asked blankly, looking down to his arm...and a dark bruise that had already started forming.

...didn't that go against the conventions? Hadn't that been what Jaden had said before? No bruising...

"Palls! Trimas!" the man snapped. "Take Ranger into custody!"

"What?" Ranger demanded, jumping back to his feet and turning on the man.

"You are in direct violation of the summation of the conventions of war," the man snarled at Ranger. "You are hereby relieved of your duties in this place."

Ranger turned on Matty, who was staring back at him.

"We're going to talk to Rab now," the man added darkly, then turned to Matty. "I'm sorry, huh, kid? I should have been watching closer."

Matty nodded slightly at that, realizing his arm felt very weak. It was, of course, his left arm. The shaking that had finally subsided was starting again.

"Let's go," he snapped at the men who'd come up to them.

"You little fuck," Ranger spat at Matty.

"I didn't do anything!" Matty shot back, stepping away backwards. "When did I ever do anything!?"

Ranger glared at him...and was shoved from the room.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" a woman muttered, moving closer to him instantly. "Are you all right?"

Matty nodded as a few of the other female prisoners moved closer as well.

"Here, dear," one of the older women muttered, leaning over to pick up his blanket. "There, huh?" she passed it to him and grabbed a pillow from the pile. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm all right," Matty reassured her, smiling as he took the stuff. "Thank you...but I'm all right."

"That man just looked mean," the woman noted, glaring after Ranger. "Weren't you supposed to be watching for that?" she added accusingly to Jaden.

"Ma'am, I'm here to assist with control," Jaden noted pointedly. He sighed, though, and gestured with his head to Matty. The nineteen year old followed obediently to the camera...where Jaden turned him to show the bruising to the camera. "Incident one, the use of unnecessary physical coercion. Ranger has been taken into custody and has been removed from the premise. You okay?" he added to Matty.

"My arm hurts," Matty returned, rubbing at it.

Jaden gave him an amused look, then rolled his eyes. "Come on...we can find a quiet corner for you to crash in."

"Thanks," Matty returned dryly, looking to the camera again.

Was Max watching again? Was he pissed? He turned to follow Jaden back toward the main area of the room again as the guy pulled a pair of mattresses off the pile and looked to Matty.

"You're sleeping by me?" Matty asked, mildly amused by that. "It's a sleep over!" he snickered, grabbing up another blanket and pillow.

"Oh, gee, something I haven't had in twenty years."

Matty snickered more, then frowned at his arm.

"Don't worry at it, kid," the guy muttered. "Ranger won't be coming back around after that...what the hell was he even saying to you?"

"Said he'd dealt with enough pretty boys to tell the liars apart," Matty returned dryly, rubbing at the mark. "Said I have you convinced I'm innocent..."

"For some reason," Jaden noted dryly, "he has a point with that...unless you're lying to me."

Matty shook his head in negation.

Jaden rolled his eyes, then kicked the top mattress toward the wall. "Forgive me for assuming you want to sleep on the inside."

"Huh, something about some psycho trying to break my arm off," Matty agreed dryly, tossing a pillow and blanket onto the second mattress and tossing his own pillow down.

"We have sheets," the guy noted with a sigh. "You want'em?"

"I suppose," Matty agreed, looking sourly across the room at the bedding.

"I'll get it," Jaden reassured him, looking around. "Unless you want me to hang out."

"No, it's fine," Matty dropped down to sit on the mattress.

He was more than ready for bed.

Rab was glaring at Ranger.

"He called him by name, Marsh...he did..."

"Jaden has been with him all day," Rab reminded him. "He probably noted it at some point..."

"We told him not to get involved," Ranger protested. "We told him not to commit..."

"Considering how bad you terrified him when he can't add people to his phone, it's kind of hard not to feel for him...thanks, however. I'm glad you violated the conventions. Now we can have every nation snarling down our necks and telling us point-blank we can't make it as a unit."

"He's lying," Ranger snapped back. "I can't tell about what, but he's lying about something."

"He's nineteen," Rab snapped. "He probably stole his dad's dirty magazine and didn't get to put it back...or maybe he took money from his mom's wallet..."

"He said his mom is dead," Ranger noted darkly, storming off toward the window.

"Well...be that as it may," Rab muttered, following. "We're going to have to confine you."

Ranger sighed in annoyance.

"You bruised him after all that shit before...you violated the damn conventions...I should throw you out for that."

Ranger met his eyes. "If he has his pax linked with the military database, he could have gotten Jaden's name."

"And you've been paranoid about his phone since the start," Rab retorted, gesturing at some soldiers. "He has it turned off now."

"Pax pro with a Chronus patch can be remotely activated," Ranger reminded him. "We have no way of telling what he has on that phone because we can't see it."

"The Chronus patch is another couple hundred dollars," Rab noted. "I don't think he's that good in bed."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Ranger snapped back as he was cuffed. "If that boyfriend he keeps mentioning can drop three hundred on his phone because he didn't know what flight he was on...why not add the patch?"

"You forget you're dealing with a teenage boy who works retail on Earth," Rab noted pointedly. "What's the chances of him being with someone as paranoid as you?"

Ranger glared at him.

"Go," Rab added, gesturing the group away.

"There's something about that phone!" Ranger snarled as he was pulled from the room. "You don't understand...I can tell."

"You and your space heart?" Rab snapped back in exasperation. "Spare me, Ranger. Go be paranoid in a cell for a few hours until I get the officials off my back."

Ranger tsked at him, then turned and allowed himself to be led away.

Rab rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey, boss?" the guy who'd been trying to call the Preventer's office muttered. "I got'em...and they're pissed."

"Go figure," Rab retorted, gesturing at the main screen.

The poor boy had been put through far more than enough already...this was just bullshit. Damn Ranger and his random paranoia.

- -

"Here we go," Wufei muttered as he found the catch for the door, hesitating while the thing slid open and launching himself inside...and stumbling slightly as the partial-gravity took hold of him. He turned and offered his hand to Quatre, who also stumbled as he moved toward the interior door. It only took a moment for the five of them to be inside the little room, and Wufei hit the button to close the other lock.

Quatre activated the switch on the far wall, but until they were sure the port was still aerated, they weren't taking off their helmets...not to mention if they had to jump back into space because of troops.

They all had weapons in hands as they moved from the room, looking around intently...or as intently as they could through their helmets.

It looked like almost any airport or spaceport...gates to the outside, a decorated hall. The only difference was that it was entirely empty and dark. No light filtered through the inner wall.

Wufei raised his wrist to check the read-out. The watch had all sorts of gauges on it...specifically how much oxygen was around them, and how much oxygen was in the tank on his back.

He considered it a moment, then looked around at the others...and released the seal for the helmet. The oxygen flow stopped immediately, and he pulled the thing off, shaking his head slightly as he inhaled the lovely smell of canned air.

There were reasons he liked earth...and one of them definitely was the lack of killer-vacuum a bad seal away...another was the fresh breeze that never carried more than mild pollution.

Though really, the canned stuff didn't have foreign contaminants in it...it didn't clog your lungs up with black gunk.

Trowa was the next to remove his helmet, then Quatre and Heero. They hooked the things to their belts and clicked on their flashlights before looking curiously to Duo...Heero shining it helpfully on Duo's face.

Duo hesitated a moment...and pulled the helmet off.

His hair fell forward to frame his face—and it was only just longer than his chin.

"Holy shit..." Quatre muttered, staring at him.

"I'm hot, I know," Duo returned dryly, hooking his helmet to his belt. "Next question...do you have an extra hair-tie?" he extending a hand to Wufei.

Wufei grinned back at him and undid the top half of his suit. After a moment, he did manage to reach inside and work his arm back to his back pocket...pulling out his emergency tie. It always sucked when one broke. He tossed that to the American.

"Is it a good look?" Duo asked, tying his hair up much like Wufei's was.

"You know," Wufei muttered, grinning at him. "When you started wanting to learn to mediate I should have known it was just because you wanted to be like me...I'll teach you katas when we get back, huh?"

Duo flashed him a grin, fiddling with his hair a moment before tilting his head from one side to the other. "It's so light..."

"I swear your braid was ten pounds on its own," Heero noted in amusement. "I imagine this feels lighter to you...turn it on."

"Huh?" Duo asked blankly, flicking on his flashlight to illuminate Heero's face since the guy hadn't stopped lighting up his.

"His phone...and for the sake of all that's good and holy, add me to the damn administrator list."

Duo sniggered, undoing the front of his suit. "We need to find an access port," he noted, looking up and down the wall. "Whose chat doesn't have a splash?"

"Mine doesn't," Quatre noted, also starting to dig into his suit. "It just opens."

"Don't forget the user set-up in your invite," Duo suggested, turning and starting up the wall, shining his flashlight at about knee-height. "I'm half-amazed no one's waiting for us here."

"There's no light in here," Trowa reminded him. "It'll be easier to pounce us when we get into the light. If they're waiting, they'll be sure to use that to their advantage."

"Cheery," Quatre muttered mildly. "Did I mention I'm going to be an uncle?"

They all looked at him.

"Fasiha," Quatre noted, blinking as he realized he hadn't said...only Heero knew. "Sorry, the reasons for not dying were coming to mind."

"Shit, I don't want to, that's good enough for me," Duo muttered, spotting a panel and grinning. "Success. Come on."

They moved down the hall, sliding out of their suits as they went. It only took them a moment to have their weaponry on their pants-belts instead of the suits, and they were all checking their access as they stopped by the panel.

"My secret weapon is a leatherman," Duo confided to Quatre sidelong, pulling out the swiss-army knife on steroids. He flicked open the screwdriver, kneeling down and starting to work the screws loose.

"That's all well and good," Trowa noted, "but there seems to be a key-hole."

"And my leatherman has some lock-picks," Duo cast Trowa an exasperated look. "Be ready if an alarm goes off."

"Your fancy toy doesn't have an alarm-killer?" Quatre protested.

"My fancy toy," Duo muttered, moving on to the final screw, "is a tool from the damn stone-ages. They sell them on replica sites, and no one has thought to add a skeleton key to it—I think I'll custom-order one and patent it, then mass produce it so every thief that lives can rape you rich people out of all your fancy silverware."

Quatre rolled his eyes.

"No?" Duo asked curiously. "But it could make me millions."

"You can make your own millions," Quatre retorted.

"That...is...making my own," Duo muttered, glancing at him as he pulled the metal thing off the wall. He flashed his friend a grin, then pulled a cord from his pocket and hooked it into his phone.

Wufei wasn't sure why, but the bickering helped him relax. They were about to make an assault on a militaristic colony with forty-seven hostages and more than a hundred soldiers...just the five of them.

Granted, the five of them and their Gundams had assaulted Earth...so in the grand scheme of things, this wasn't really out of their line.

Hell, at least they had the follow-through on their crazy. They didn't get lost halfway through it; they committed all the way, a hundred and ten percent...

Hell, what was life without a little gunfire, anyway?

Note to self, he thought languidly as he watched Duo hacking into a colony system, talk to Mike about those prescription anti-crazy drugs he was talking about...be sure he knows they should be able to stop me from assaulting a damn colony full of discontent war-rick veterans.

Somehow, though, Wufei doubted the good doctor had anything that strong in his little paper arsenal.

There were some forms of crazy that medication just didn't cut it for...very few, though...very very few.

- -

Matty rolled over as he felt the sensation again, blinking around the room blankly. He had no idea what time it was, but it looked like everyone was sleeping. There were a few soldiers standing against the walls...and they mostly looked asleep too.

His phone buzzed again.

Matty blinked in amazement, pressing his hand to the thing and looking nervously to Jaden. The man, though, was snoring with his head turned away.

The teen pulled his phone from his pocket, his heart hammering since he knew the light was going to be...very very dim?

Matty blinked at it.

'Are you okay?' Max demanded.

'My phone was off,' Matty noted.

'Yes, we turned it back on. Are you safe?'

'My escort is sleeping right here...I don't think anyone else really realizes mine is supposed to BE off.'

'So you're okay?'

'I suppose,' Matty muttered. 'My arm hurts, though. '

'What happened to it?'

'Ranger was squeezing it,' Matty explained, glancing nervously at Jaden again. 'They made him stop...are you watching the feed?'

'I haven't had access to it in a while,' Max returned. 'Why?'

'Ranger freaked out on me...was telling me he could tell I was lying and then bruised me.'

'That's a violation of...'

'I know...they basically arrested him for it, then Jaden took me to the camera to show it and note it.'

'Jaden?'

'Um...the first guy who touched my phone,' Matty explained. 'What's going on?'

'Not a whole lot...nothing for you to worry about. I take it you mean Timorre?'

'I think that's what it said his last name was...I think it said first lieutenant or something like that, too.'

'Yeah...he's your escort?'

'Yeah...he feels bad about me missing our date...kinda fucked up that you were right, huh? You said if I came we wouldn't go.'

'I was just being a dick,' Max admitted. 'Are you still with the others?'

'Yeah...since they got me to turn my phone off they haven't been paying too much attention to me. Just when Ranger grabbed me.'

'All right. Just keep cooperating with them, all right? We're on our way.'

'What do you mean?'

'Shush. Don't ask questions. If shit happens and you get away, go into Jason's chat room, all right? We're all in it.'

Matty stared at that.

'I'm turning your phone off now. I've got a lock on your location.'

'What? What's going on?' Matty couldn't help but wonder if they were really coming after him now.

'I told you, don't worry about it. Go back to sleep.'

'Fine...I'm sorry I didn't listen to you...I,' he hesitated a moment. 'I miss you.'

'I miss you, too,' Max reassured him. 'If your phone buzzes again, don't pull it out. It's just us turning it on so we can get a lock on you. You DON'T want anyone taking it from you, especially now.'

'All right.'

'All right,' Max agreed. 'Be safe...and relax.'

That seemed highly unlikely, but the phone powered down silently.

He'd tried repeatedly, and he'd never been able to turn it off without the annoying good-bye tune.

He slid the thing back into his pocket, dropping back down on the mattress.

"You have to use the bathroom or something?" Jaden muttered tiredly, rolling over.

"Huh? Yeah," Matty returned, realizing that his motion had woken the other up. "Kind of...I was just having a freaky dream."

"After a day like today, I'm shocked it wasn't a full-blown nightmare," the guy yawned and sat up. "Come on."

"Yeah," Matty agreed, climbing from his bedding as well and following the other toward the door.

What the hell was going on? He wished he knew.

How had they turned his phone on anyway? But Max had said to turn it off if they told him to, and not to hesitate or worry about it. That explained why.

So now all he had to do was to go back to sleep. They'd found his location...what a strange thought.

He moved up to the urinal as Jaden tiredly moved to the sinks.

He was almost more curious to know what was happening than to get out of the situation—probably because Jaden was...what had Ranger said? Hen-pecking? J is hen-pecking for you...Jaden was definitely seeing to it that nothing went bad for him...and that made the situation ten times more comfortable.

So...wait and relax? He was tired...and he'd always been told that time moves faster when you're sleeping through it.

Got it, Max. I'll go back to sleep. He grinned slightly to himself as he started washing his hands.

"Hm?" Jaden asked curiously, a little confused.

"My arm doesn't ache nearly as bad as it did," Matty lied quickly...but not too quickly. He made it sound casual and believable.

"That bruise looks nasty, though," Jaden returned, leaning forward slightly to study it. "I don't know...what helps bruises go down? There's gotta be something we can do about it."

"I dunno," Matty admitted, considering the thing. "We'd have to talk to a doctor or something...and I'm not that worried about it."

"But it's our responsibility," Jaden reminded him. "Maybe I should call the doctor over."

"Can't we go to him? That sounds a lot less of a hassle for him...in the morning...after sleep."

Jaden snorted at that. "I was about to be impressed with how considerate you were of your captors...but you're just a lazy teenager, aren't you?"

Matty flashed him a grin and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Dad, if you say so."

"I could almost have a son your age," Jaden retorted, kicking almost playfully at his shin. "If I were like...fifteen when I got her pregnant."

"You're thirty-four?" Matty asked blankly, looking to him curiously.

The guy snorted at him and shoved him at the bathroom door.

"Okay, okay," Matty retorted. "I just thought you were like...twenty-eight or something."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment and remind you that it's not your business."

"Sorry," Matty retorted again, though neither his words nor Jaden's were annoyed.

The man made an amused noise, and followed him back toward the main room. "I'll talk to Rab about getting you to the clinic after you wake up," he noted after a moment. "But we don't really want to keep you off camera after the initial shit with Ranger."

"Oh," Matty frowned slightly and shrugged. "Whatever, as long as its not tonight."

"Lazy-ass," Jaden retorted, watching as he sat down. "Anyone else in here bother you?"

"That little old lady who keeps calling me sweetie," Matty noted, grinning slightly at that, pointing at the older woman on the far side of the room.

Jaden rolled his eyes slightly. "Then I can go for a while?"

"It's just Ranger," Matty noted, shifting uncomfortably. "Unless there are more like him in here," he looked to the men standing around the walls nervously.

"There are, but they have no reason to pay you mind, especially if you're sleeping," Jaden noted. "I need to go see if Rab's awake and talk to him about a few things. You okay here? Really?"

Matty nodded.

"Fine," the guy muttered, then wandered to the camera. Matty couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it didn't take him long before he turned and left the room with a nod to Matty in parting.

Matty shifted back on his side, staring toward the far wall.

It was all well and good for him to be tired, and for him to want to do as Max had suggested...unfortunately, nothing in his life ever seemed that easy.

One of the soldiers on the wall shifted slightly, and Matty jumped as he focused on him, then turned so his back was to the main room and let his heart re-settle...and, finally...fall back into a deep dreamless sleep.