Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Advanced Reservations ❯ Chapter 15

Disclaimers: Not mine, don’t sue. I’ll send one of my kids to terrorize you if you do.
Warnings: Some angst, some strangely placed fluff
Pairings: 3x2 mainly, some random other scattered about
On with the next part!!
There was a palpable tension in the hotel room the next morning. Everyone had taken turns going through the sheaf of papers they had gathered about Jacob Winter. While one team was sorting through the man’s life, the others had caught a few much needed hours of rest. They had all been running for what felt like days, sleeping rarely and it was beginning to wear on them all.
Tempers were running short all around, several small arguments being started over trivial things, such as what to order for breakfast. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei appeared to be the only ones not affected by the lack of rest, a fact that had been commented several times, in several tones ranging from jeering to admiring.
Wufei, never the most tactful of people, had eventually blown up when someone had tossed an insult, yet again, in their direction; unfortunately, it was Car that had sneered. “Damn it, woman! We don’t have time to listen to all the sniveling and whining from everyone. If someone is tired, then they should take it upon themselves to go take a nap. We will inform everyone when we find something we can use.”
The redheaded woman slapped him across the cheek, “Maybe you guys are machines, but the rest of us are mere mortals, you big jerk,” she yelled before stomping angrily off.
Wufei sat for a long time, his head bowed. Trowa knew from experience he was probably chastising himself. He stood, stretching his stiff muscles, then walked over the Asian, placing a hand on his back. “Everyone is stressed out Wufei. She’ll feel better in a little while. She probably just needed to blow off some steam, and you happen to be the first that set her off.”
“Is there any way you could speak to her for me? Let her know that I am really sorry?” The Chinese was looking up at him, pleading for the intervention.
Trowa knew that there was no way he could deny the pitiful look from the normally placid Chinese man. With a heavy sigh, he nodded, realizing that these were the types of situations you were placed in when you had close friends that appeared to be attracted to one another. He had to briefly wonder if he and Duo had been anything close to normal if they would have had issues with each other.
While searching for the irate woman, he decided that he and Duo were meant to be together, not matter when or where they had met. He felt drawn to the beautiful man, and hoped that Duo felt the same way about him.
Hearing soft sobs from the second bedroom, he paused to take a deep breath, then knocked. Receiving no answer, he pushed the door open, instantly seeing Car lying on the bed with her face buried in a pillow to soften the noise. He walked to the bed and picked her up with ease, pulling her into a sitting position and setting her on his lap as he sat down, trying to give her the comfort he thought she needed.
Car’s sobbing lessened a bit as she wrapped her arms around his chest, burying her face in his neck. He allowed her a few minutes to wallow in her misery, stroking her hair. He had no idea what he was doing since he had never been close to any females other than Catherine, and it was rare that they were able to see each other. He decided to do what he would do if she were Duo and he needed to be soothed. After several minutes of muttering calming words, Car’s sobs tapered off, leaving her hiccupping.
“We aren’t machines, you know,” he spoke softly into her hair, instinctively knowing that she wouldn’t want to look at him yet. “We were just trained for so many years for situations like this. If we have to stay awake for days at a time, we manage because we were trained to do so. It’s kind of like falling back into a routine that we are used to. At the same time, we shut down our emotions so we don’t end up getting hurt because we are thinking about the wrong thing at the wrong time.”
“What do you mean?” he voice was low and raspy from crying.
“When you are going into a fight where you could die, it’s better to have your mind focused only on what you are doing. If you pick the wrong moment to worry about something, or somebody else, you get distracted. Being distracted can get you killed. Call it a defense mechanism, if you will. It doesn’t mean we don’t care.”
“I didn’t really mean that, Trowa. I’m just very tired and worried about Duo. Having to live with all this stress is something I’m not used to. Maybe I’m just better when I’m on my own, without having to worry about anyone else.”
“Car, you are one of the most caring people that I know,” he stated honestly. “You may have grown up on the streets, having to look after yourself, but I think seeing other people – other children – suffering has made you want to take care of everyone you care about. I consider like that you worry about Duo, and me, and David, and Alexi. It means that you care about us.” He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. “And you worry about Wufei a bit more than the rest of us, I believe, except for Duo.”
She gasped at his words, then tucked her head down. “I promised myself that I would never give another guy a chance to hurt me,” she whispered, alluding to the heartbreak she had experienced in the past. He said nothing, not knowing what had happened to her that had hurt so badly. “I don’t understand why I feel anything for him, Trowa. I barely know the man, but it feels like something pulls me to him.”
“Kind of like he’s a magnet and the attraction was fated from the beginning of time,” Trowa mumbled.
Car raised her head and stared at him for a moment before grinning. “I guess you feel the same way about Duo.”
He nodded, “I feel that pull even when we aren’t together. I can feel it even now, and that’s how I know that he is still alive. I didn’t always understand what I felt for him, but I always knew that he somehow made me a better person. I would rather die today with this feeling than live forever without experiencing it.”
“Is that your way of telling me to give Wufei a chance?”
“Wouldn’t you like to see if he makes you happy? If he could make you feel complete, are you going to give up the chance because of what happened before? You two fit very well together, you know, much like Duo and myself. Two parts of the same whole, two halves of one soul. You complement each other.” He met her eyes, making sure she understood the depth of his words. “He has been hurt, as well, Car, and is as scared as you are, even if he won’t admit it unless under duress. You hurt his feelings earlier. We cannot help the way we are, just as you can’t stop being the person whose personality was formed by what you saw on the streets.”
“I didn’t really mean what I said, ya know. I’m just frustrated that were not making any progress in finding Duo.”
“We are making progress, Car. We will find him soon, I can feel it. In the meantime, we need to try to remember that we are all worried, tired, and stressed out. Duo means a lot to all of us, or we wouldn’t be here.”
“When you go back in there, can you send Wufei in? I think I need to talk to him about a few things.”
Trowa took the dismissal for what it was, pushing her off his lap with a playful shove and standing. He patted her on the head before turning and leaving the room. He found Wufei in the same position he had left him in, sitting in the same chair with his head bowed, his eyes closed. He thought he was asleep until Wufei’s head raised, ebony eyes fixing on him. “She wants to speak with you,” Trowa gestured to the room he had just vacated.
Wufei nodded and rose from his chair, his demeanor resigned. Trowa had to take pity on him, not wanting to see the man in such a state. “Cheer up, Wufei. She cares for you, and it scares her.”
“It terrifies me,” the Chinese man stated, moving toward the room where Car waited for him. Trowa gaped only briefly after hearing the confession from a man he didn’t think was scared of anything.
He was still reeling from the confession when he fell into a chair beside Heero, who barely acknowledged his presence. The Japanese man was intently looking over what appeared to be a number of videos at one time. “What are you doing?” he finally asked, the many screens giving him a slight headache as he watched. “And how long have you been doing this?”
Heero took the time to pause all the running screens, “About two and a half hours,” he admitted after glimpsing at his watch. Rubbing his eyes, he sat back in his chair, gesturing to the laptop. “I found some security footage. I’m running a facial recognition program to see if I can find anything.”
“Heero, without knowing a specific area or time that task is an impossible one.”
“I found three addresses for Seth Winter in the Miami area. They are at opposite sides of the city, which is very large, so I need to narrow the address down further so we don’t waste any more time.”
Trowa nearly came out of his seat with excitement. “You managed to find him?”
“I don’t know,” Heero gave him a stern glare. “I found the addresses, but that doesn’t mean anything. He may not even be there, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“How did you manage to find the addresses, or the security feeds?” taking Heero’s advice, Trowa tried to tamp down the burst of adrenaline that flowed through him. It was possible that this was a wild goose chase, leading them to nothing but frustration at the end of it.
“Hacked them,” was Heero’s short reply. “The home titles were buried in a ton of paperwork and red tape, making me consider the possibility that someone was trying to hide the connection.”
Trowa nodded, understanding that if it looked suspicious then it probably was. People often bought a residence or property under different names or through a shell corporation in order to hide things, but usually it was because the people in question were doing something either highly illegal, or extremely immoral. Duo was an exception to the rule, as he was using the Maxwell Foundation to hide his identity for the good of the people he helped through it.
He watched Heero closely for a few minutes, noticing the faint lines of strain that tightened the corners of his mouth and eyes. “What’s wrong, Heero?” When the man in question blinked at him, he explained his query in a bit more detail. “There is something you are not telling me. You look like you are more apprehensive.”
“I feel like we are running out of time,” Heero said softly, making sure his words didn’t carry to the other people in the room. “I didn’t want to worry you, but it feels like if we don’t find Duo soon, something bad is going to happen.”
For the first time that day, Trowa focused on his own growing apprehension. He had felt it when he woke, but had forcefully pushed it from his mind, with the hope that he was just allowing the stress of the last week to get to him. Now, after hearing Heero’s thoughts, he let the feeling wash over him, placing his head in his hands for a moment. “I feel it, too. I was hoping it was just my nerves.”
Without any further conversation, Heero restarted the video footage and the program. Both men kept their eyes trained to the screen, hoping to see a picture of Jacob Winter so they could pinpoint a rough destination. It wasn’t long before Wufei rejoined them, Trowa sharing their concerns. When Wufei admitted to the same feeling that time was running out, they knew that they were almost out of time. For all three of them to be experiencing the sense of urgency was tantamount to a disaster, their instincts honed over several painful fighting experiences.
It was almost four hours, and several sodas and aspirin, later that they had their first breakthrough when Wufei spotted a by now familiar face on one of the screens they were scanning. Heero immediately began to get the name and address of the business where Winter had been spotted, matching it up to one of the home addresses that he had found earlier.
“The footage is from the Miami International Merchandise Mart,” Heero informed them as Wufei pulled out a satellite map of the city. They studied it for several minutes before finding the location in question. “The home address is listed as being on North Red Road. That puts it in close proximity to the airport, several highways, shopping centers, a hospital, and a couple of lakes. I think he chose this location for the ability to get out in a hurry if he needed to.” Heero shrugged at the questioning glances he received, “It’s what I would have done in a situation like this, if I knew I might need an escape route in a hurry.”
It didn’t take long to form a plan, Trowa making sure to call Une and update her on what they had discovered. She sent them information that would be of use, including satellite pictures of the home in question. It was difficult to believe that the neat home could possibly be where his lover was being held as a captive. Une also promised the use of back-up if it became necessary, but agreed that for now it would be best for the three former Gundam pilots to take care of the situation themselves, knowing the severity of the matter.
As soon as darkness fell, the three men left, ignoring the arguments of the people they were leaving behind. It was uncomfortable for all of them, not su re what they were going to find when they reached their destination.
Heero navigated the streets with care, being sure not to attract any undue attention. If the local authorities were to pull them over, they would not be greeted with any enthusiasm, seeing as how they were all heavily armed, and carried a bag full of suspicious equipment that they might have need of. Heero and Wufei would eventually be released from custody once they proved their position as active Preventer agents. Trowa, however, would be held for a long time due to his civilian status. This was time that they were not willing to waste, the feeling of needing to hurry growing exponentially in the last few hours.
No words were wasted when Heero parked the car several blocks away from their destination, the decision having been made earlier to do so. Not wanting to announce their presence to the man they knew to be Jacob Winters, they crept across lawns and used the surrounding houses to mask their approach. Finally reaching the home they were looking for, Wufei took a pair of heat vision goggles out of the bag he carried, training it on the two story home before them.
After several tense minutes of waiting, Wufei lowered the goggles to look at his companions. “Two heat sources inside, one downstairs and one in what appears to be an attic. The person on the first floor is moving around a lot, actually appears to be pacing.”
When Wufei said nothing else, Trowa had to force himself to ask the next dreaded question. “And the person in the attic?”
He held his breath while waiting for a response, tensing when the Chinese turned away from him, obviously not wanting to meet his eyes. “No visible movement that I could make out.”
“There is a heat signature, Trowa,” Heero whispered to him. Trowa knew that the other man was trying to reassure him, but the most important words were not to be spoken. He understood that if Duo had already been dead for a short time, he would still have a heat signature, though it would fade eventually. He shook his head, not wanting to dwell on that fact, needing all his wits to get Duo out of captivity, alive or not.
Heero led them to the house as they had planned earlier. The Japanese had been the best at planning a mission in the past and they depended on that experience in their current endeavor. They communicated with hand signals instead of speaking; easily depending on the training they had all went through for years.
Trowa crept to the nearest window, peering inside to see if he could place the man that had kidnapped his lover. It wasn’t difficult to find him, as he was pacing back and forth in what seemed to be the living room, his movements agitated and jerky. Trowa frowned when he realized that the man was talking to himself, stopping every few seconds to tilt his head at the ceiling of the room and yelling something at an unseen person. He had to assume that the man was yelling in the direction of where Duo was, giving him hope that his love was still alive.
They had discussed their options earlier, trying to decide the best way to get Duo out of the clutches of a madman. The first plan had to been getting Duo out without letting his kidnapper know that they were even in the house, letting the local Preventers pick up the man afterward. Now, it was apparent that they were going to have to go with the second option of taking the man down before searching the building. There were no doubts that the American was in this house, especially after seeing some of the items that Winter had acquired in his shopping expedition, which included strong rope, plastic restraints, and an alarmingly large number and variety of knives.
Giving Heero a nod, Trowa moved away from the window, holding the hope of finding Duo alive and well, close to his heart. The three men quietly made their way around to the back of the house, Heero picking the lock on the back door in a couple of minutes. The room they ended up in appeared to be the kitchen, which looked – and smelled – like it hadn’t been touched by a cleaning product in years.
Reaching into the bag he had, Wufei handed Trowa several throwing knives and a set of lock picks. When Trowa raised an eyebrow in question, Heero got his attention, “We will distract Winter, you go find Duo,” he mouthed, then began to unload an alarming number of weapons from the duffel bag, somehow finding places for everything on his person. Wufei nodded his agreement, gesturing to the badge that was placed in plain sight at his belt.
He inclined his head once, letting them know that he would do his part, trusting them to stay safe. He knew that they were putting themselves in danger in order to help their friend get free, none of them doubting that the missing American was located in this house.
He also realized that they would need to be very careful not to get hurt. Jacob Winter had been a member of Oz and was therefore trained in fighting and combat, and he had grown up on the streets so he was sure to have a number of unorthodox fighting tactics, much like Duo possessed.
“Be careful,” Trowa mouthed to the other men, promising himself that once this was over he and Duo would make more of an attempt to keep in touch with them. They really were good men and good friends to put themselves in peril this way to make sure that Trowa was able to reunite with Duo. It wasn’t often that you could find someone you could trust to watch out for you this way, and it was a relationship that he didn’t want any of them to forget.
Pushing any thoughts out of his mind that didn’t pertain to his current mission, he moved to the other side of the kitchen, the opposite direction of Heero and Wufei, hoping the stairway he saw there would go up, saving him from having to be involved in the confrontation that the other men were about to experience.
Trowa already knew that Heero and Wufei would give him as long as possible to locate Duo; the possibility that Winter had Duo wired in case something like this would happen affecting all of them. As quietly as he possible, he crept up the stairs, staying to the side closest to the wall to keep any noise down - a trick he had learned from the American during the war.
Reaching the landing, he stopped for a moment to listen and look around. There were no sounds from downstairs, other than the mumbled ranting from the owner of the house. At the far end of the hallway, he could see the pull string that would lead him to the attic and made his way in that direction. On the way, he took a cursory glance in each room he passed, making sure that his missing lover was not in one of them.
He didn’t see Duo, but the state of the house was disgusting. The rancid smell that had lingered in the kitchen was also here, permeating every room and assaulting his nose. Eyes watering, he reached up for the rope, tugging on it to release the attic stairs, attempting to catch them before they hit the floor to keep the sound muffled.
The steps didn’t make much noise when they came down, but the racket they made when he folded them out reverberated down the hallway. Trowa froze on the spot, clearly hearing the shout of rage from the man on the first floor. Hearing two almost identical battle cries, he wasted no time climbing up the rickety steps, his eyes falling immediately on the figure huddled in the corner, not moving.
“Duo?”
A matted head of hair lifted, tired, bruised violet eyes fixing on Trowa, widening slightly when he saw who was at the stairs. Trowa started to move forward, stopping when he saw Duo shake his head slowly with a wince, “The floor’s rigged, Tro. Come too close and we’ll be blown to bits.”
Stopping any forward motion, Trowa crouched down, taking a good look at the floor. He found it difficult to keep his eyes off the man in the corner and decided it would be better to keep Duo talking to reassure himself that his lover was, in fact, there, alive and okay, only feet away from him. “What the hell happened, Duo?”
“There was a note for me at the fire, one that he knew I would understand, even if it didn’t mean anything to anyone else. He spray painted it on the damn wall on the outside of the building, and the cops said it was just graffiti. I called Luce and got her to check up on several people it could be. When I was on the way back to my apartment, he ambushed me from behind. Son of a bitch used a tranq on me that was meant for horses. I was out for an entire day. By the time I came to, I was here.”
While Duo spoke, Trowa was studying the devices he could see on the floor. There were several pressure switches that he could identify, causing his heart to race as he went through possibilities. “Why haven’t you tried to get away?”
“I tried to, but the drugs that were in my system kept me from getting too far. After that, he tied me up pretty good. He’s got me trussed up like a thanksgiving turkey here. Bastard took all the tools out of my braid, too. It was a trick I used when I was young, so he knew about it.” Duo fell silent for a few minutes, then shifted slightly, letting out a grunt of pain. “I tried to fight back, but he told me he knew where you were. It wouldn’t have been hard for him to hurt you, since you didn’t know who to watch out for,” Trowa could hear the apology in Duo’s voice and waved it off. “How did you find me?”
“Had some help from a few old friends, and some new ones, too. I’ll tell you about it when we get out of here.” He looked at his lover and smiled. “It’s good to see you, Duo. I really missed you. A lot.”
The American’s face lit up, despite the obvious pain he was in, “Missed you too. Wish we had seen each other under better circumstances, but I’ll take what I can get right now. I thought about you a lot, up here. Hope we get a chance to talk when we get out of here.”
“I promise you that we have all the time in the world to talk, among other things,” Trowa had to smile at the snicker that floated in his direction from the corner. “Is there a delay on these things?” Duo was an expert at explosives, knowing more about them than anyone he knew.
“From the ones I could see, they should have a standard ten second delay. Not enough time to get out of the house. He’s got them rigged so that if one goes off, it will set the next off, then the next until the house, and anyone in it, is in pieces.”
Trowa was silent for a moment, studying the area that Duo was in, frowning when a small flash of light caught his eyes. “Is that a window behind you?”
He could feel Duo’s eyes on him, trying to figure out what he was planning. “Yeah. It’s been painted over so no one could see inside.”
“How big is it?”
“I’m guessing it used to be a large picture window. It’s at least six feet tall, prolly about four feet wide. What are you planning?”
The sound of footsteps coming up the steps got his attention. Trowa pulled out one of his knives, doubting that Winter had been able to get away from the two men, but not wanting to take any chances. “It’s me,” the low voice drifted up the stairs.
Trowa relaxed as Heero’s head appeared in the attic. Cobalt eyes went to the man they had been searching for, then swung back around to Trowa. “Why haven’t you got him out of here yet?”
“Floor is rigged with pressure sensitive explosives.”
“Heero, what the hell are you doing here?”
The Japanese smirked at the man that had been his partner during one of the most difficult times of his life. “Saving your ass, as usual, Duo.”
“At least you don’t plan to shoot me this time,” was the chuckled reply.
Listening to the exchange, Trowa knew that there was a story there that he would have to ask Duo about sometime, but that would have to come after they had all managed to get out of this building alive. “I have a plan,” he got Heero’s attention. “Status on Winter?”
“Subdued and waiting for transport to the local Preventers. Une is coming to do the interrogation herself. She remembers him from Oz,” Heero explained with a gleam in his eyes. “What’s your idea?”
Lowering his voice so it wouldn’t carry, Trowa explained what he hoped to do. When he finished, Heero looked at him and shook his head, “And everyone said that I was the one that did all the stupid stunts,” was all he said about the idea. “Give me fifteen minutes to get everything ready. We need to gather some of the evidence downstairs before we get out. Wufei has already called the paramedics and authorities and they are on the way. I’m glad he requested two ambulances,” he noted, his eyes flashing on Duo’s form with a frown.
The Japanese went down the stairs, leaving Trowa alone with Duo again. Checking his watch for the time, the tall man settled on the floor, his eyes training on the man he had missed so terribly in the past week. “I really did miss you, Duo.”
“Trowa, I’m so sorry I didn’t wait for you to come with me. If I had, none of this would have happened.”
“Well, I did say that working for you was going to be more exciting than working for the Preventers, didn’t I?” he teased, pleased to see a tired smile appear on the bruised face that was watching him. “How badly did he hurt you?”
“Honestly, not that bad. I think my wrist is broken, but other than that, I’m mostly just bruised and banged up. And hungry as hell, in more ways than one,” from the look in his eyes, Duo wasn’t just referring to food. “What do you expect? I haven’t had anything to do here for the last few days other than think about…certain things. It helped to pass the time,” he offered with a smile.
Trowa looked at his watch again, rising to his feet when he saw the allotted time had passed. He stretched for several moments, loosening up muscles that hadn’t seen much action in a very long time. His lover’s eyes were pinning him with an intense stare, already realizing that Trowa was not going to share his plan. Crouching down again, Trowa placed his body in a sprinting position, knowing the moment that Duo understood his idea by the widened eyes and tightening of the lean muscles. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” Duo replied calmly. “Just make sure we don’t die, kay? We have too much stuff to do later.”
“Mission accepted,” Trowa smirked for a second, then threw his body in motion.
As soon as he heard the small click of the first pressure switch, it seemed like the world around him went into slow motion. He crossed the expanse of floor between him and his lover as fast as he could, arms reaching out even as Duo pushed himself as far off the floor as possible while still bound. Feeling the weight of the smaller man against him, Trowa launched his body forward, ducking his head as he pushed through the old panes of glass.
There was a short sensation of flying before gravity set in. Using his acrobatic skills, Trowa flipped them in the air so Duo would land on top of him, hitting the mattresses with a painful thump. He instantly spun them over to shield the braided man from the explosion and falling debris that were sure to rain around them.
Seconds later, he heard the explosion, covering his own head as much as he was able while ensuring that Duo wasn’t harmed any further. He could feel the burning remnants falling around and on him, waiting until the worst of it was over before he leaned up and searched Duo’s face for any pain. “Are you okay?”
“My wrist is definitely broken,” the American winced. Trowa looked between their bodies where Duo’s hand was trapped, bent at an awkward angle. “Other than that, I’m okay, but I would really like to get out of these bindings soon.”
Starting to scramble up, Trowa stopped when Duo spoke so softly he couldn’t understand the words, “What is it, Duo?”
“I haven’t got to see you for a while, and then you come out of the blue and save me, in more ways than one. What do you think I want?” Violet eyes narrowed at him, then a small smile was sent in his direction, a plea in the violet eyes. “Touch me, Trowa. Let me know this is real.”
Without hesitation, Trowa covered Duo’s mouth, claiming the other man’s lips in a tender yet thorough kiss. Pulling away, he carefully kept his body away from Duo but stroked the face before him gently. “I’ll be there to touch you everyday to remind you that this is real, for the rest of our lives if you let me.”
The smile that he received was beatific, “That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a long time.”
“If you two are finished with your Kodak moment, can we get Duo to the medics that are waiting for him to grace them with his appearance?” Trowa looked up into the Wufei’s smiling face and groaned, slowly getting to his feet.
“I’m not as young as I used to be,” he mumbled as he reached down to pick Duo up, all the aches and pains making themselves known from his jump out the window.
“I thought that you were smart enough not to jump out windows, Trowa.” Duo teased, curling himself into his lovers chest. “That’s always been a Yuy thing.”