Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Attempted Bystanding ❯ 04 ( Chapter 5 )

Four

"I don't know, Lu," Sally muttered tiredly, dropping back in her seat. "There's no point in you being back yet."

"No?" Lucratzia tilted her head curiously.

"We've got nothing," Sally shrugged. "They ran the blockade and that's all she wrote. We can't find the M.S. they used..."

"M.S.?" Duo demanded, turning to look at the laptop screen. Lu'd called Sally from her laptop and was sitting on the couch in the second apartment.

"Aren't you supposed to be working or something?" Sally asked him darkly.

"It's Sunday," Duo retorted, moving to sit next to Lu on the sofa. "The only one of us who works Sundays is Matty."

"One of you?" Sally asked blankly. "You do mean that little Helen-boy, right?"

"Helen-boy?" Duo echoed blankly.

"You know, Helen of Troy...the face that launched a thousand ships? Everyone keeps saying you stormed Troy...that'd make him Helen, right?"

Noin sniggered.

"Wasn't Troy under siege for ten years?" Duo demanded. "Une herself said that one didn't work..."

"The great heroes were there," Noin noted, studying Duo's face with bright eyes.

Sally looked between them a moment, then took a drink of her coffee. "So...any news from that vagrant boyfriend of yours?"

Lucretzia's shoulders dropped as she looked back to the screen and shrugged.

"He's just having one of his fits, as far as we can tell," Duo noted sardonically.

The door to the apartment swung somewhat violently open, and the pair turned to look at it as Heero backed into the place with Matty in his arms. The younger man's legs were wrapped just enough around Heero's waist that the Asian male didn't have to support him...but evidently the kissing was keeping Heero from focusing on where he was walking.

"They're here!" Heero protested, catching himself against the door. "I told you they were!"

"Shut up and go to the room," Matty retorted, biting at Heero's throat.

"You have to go to work," Heero protested.

Duo noted that Matty had a pair of slacks on with one of his nicer shirts...though that seemed to be about the extent of it.

"So I'll be five minutes late," Matty pulled away to meet his eyes. "It's five minutes..."

"But..." Heero was at a loss.

"Hm," Noin muttered, looking back to the screen. "I'll call you back later."

"I can't see more'n that it's Heero," Sally muttered, having leaned forward.

Lucratzia grinned and lifted the laptop, moving so it had a clear shot behind her at the pair. Heero managed to close the door, but he seemed to have forgotten his arguments about the guy being late for work.

"Yeah, we're gonna wanna head over to the other place," Duo noted in amusement.

"Hurry up, too," Matty agreed as Heero stumbled somewhat with him toward the hall.

Sally started laughing.

Matty pulled away from Heero in disbelief, focusing on the screen as Heero turned.

"Oh...hey, Sally," Heero licked his lips as he caught his breath some. "Uh..."

Sally started laughing even more.

"So...we may lose connection," Lu muttered, rising to her feet and starting for the door. "I'm not sure how the reception is around here."

"Sorry I can't talk," Heero called, exchanging a wicked grin with Duo. "I'll call you later, huh Sally?"

"All right," Sally returned, her voice dancing merrily—she wasn't quite laughing.

"That was kinda embarrassing," Matty noted, meeting Heero's eyes.

"Nonsense," Heero returned as the apartment door shut again. He swung the door open to their room. "She knows we're together...what are you worried about?"

"I dunno, it's just..."

"You always get so embarrassed," Heero muttered, swinging the guy around to the bed. "I don't think I'll ever get it."

"You're not really human," Matty retorted, making a face at him before leaning in for a kiss.

"Don't say that," Heero muttered, feeling a twitch in his emotions. "I don't like hearing that."

"What?" Matty asked blankly. He'd heard Heero say things like that before to the others, and he'd always assumed it was some inside thing.

"Saying I'm not human...it bothers me," Heero shook his head, leaning in to start kissing at his throat.

"Oh...okay..." Matty didn't get it, but Duo'd probably explain it...and there were actually much more interesting things going on.

- -

"So...why hasn't Matty left for work yet?" Quatre asked, a coffee cup in his hands as he studied the younger man's shoes. They were sitting with their socks in them in front of the door.

"Huh?" Duo looked around to him and grinned. "Oh...he and Heero went over to their room," he indicated the second apartment with his head. "He said something about being five minutes late."

Quatre considered that as he sipped his cup of coffee, scratching at his bare chest a moment and looking around to the clock. It said nine, which was the point he was supposed to be starting work, and it would take him at least twenty minutes to get there if traffic cooperated with him. "So...he'll be at least half hour late now. Should we pound on the wall?"

Duo guffawed happily.

"I'm gonna so get fired!" Matty entered the apartment like their conversation was a conveniently placed writer's device. "I can't believe...do I look okay?" he appealed to the two males, spreading his arms.

"Straighten your buttons," Duo suggested, grinning slightly at the guy.

He looked down at his shirt and cursed, sliding his hand down them so they all popped open.

"So if that comes off that fast," Quatre muttered, tilting his head, "why are you this late?"

Matty laughed, meeting his eyes briefly as he sat and pulled his socks on.

Quatre snorted and headed back toward the couch.

"Did you have fun?" Lucretzia asked happily. She was curled on the couch, and had been messing with the remote between her bare toes.

Matty flashed her a wicked grin.

"What time's your lunch?" she added.

"Uh..." he pulled one shoe on, then the other as he thought. "It's...at one, I think," he shook his head, straightening his shirt before looking around to Duo hopefully.

"As long as you button it straight," Duo reassured him, looking him over. "No bruises?"

That got him the same naughty grin that had been flashed to Quatre before he turned for the door and stopped short. "Shit!"

They watch him turn and run toward the bedroom area in amusement, hearing him grab something metal—presumably his keys—then turn and dart back for the door.

"Bye!" Duo called happily. "Have a good day at work while I'm lazy all day!"

Matty rounded on him from the door, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Have fun not getting laid."

"Hey!" Duo protested.

Matty disappeared, his laughter left behind him as his final good-bye.

Duo started laughing.

"Oops," Heero muttered a moment later, moving into the apartment and stretching languidly in the door.

"You are aware that we're all about to kick your ass, right?" Quatre asked him sweetly. "Your whole getting laid repeatedly thing doesn't settle with us."

Heero flashed him a grin, then noticed his cup.

"It's fresh," Quatre returned, gesturing with the cup toward the kitchen. He turned, looking back to Noin.

"Hm?" she asked curiously.

"I'd really appreciate it," he returned, meeting her eyes and gesturing at her feet, "if you wouldn't put your toes on that."

"I have cute toes!" she protested, her smile flashing across her face.

"They're still toes," Quatre returned, taking another drink as he focused back on the remote. "And...we all have our issues, come on."

She started laughing and put the remote on the coffee table.

Quatre considered that a long moment, then looked back around to Heero and Duo. "We should go out tonight."

"It's Sunday," Duo muttered, blinking at him blankly. "We all work tomorrow."

"I didn't say get drunk," Quatre retorted, turning back toward the couch again.

"You have no idea what to do with yourself, do you?" Lucretzia asked sweetly, studying him.

"Not the slightest inkling," he agreed, moving to drop at the end of the couch. "I don't want to shower yet, but what can I do?"

"Go over to the other apartment and go through all the races on that stupid game," Heero suggested, moving around to stand by the end of the breakfast bar by Duo. "They're going to beg me to do each and every race if no one else goes through and beat it."

"I don't know how to play those machines," Quatre protested.

"Come on," Heero returned, starting for the door. "I'll show you...we can take turns."

- -

"It's twelve-thirty," Lucratzia noted, moving to stand behind the couch in the second apartment. "You're aware of that, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Heero glanced up at her, then focused quickly back on the screen.

"Shit!" Quatre protested, swerving around a wall or something.

Lu watched them obviously get back into the race, then grinned slightly. They'd never been the type to get into games before, and they were both obviously focused on this. "Hey!" she said sharply.

They both jumped.

She started laughing wickedly as they both scrambled until one of them found the pause button, turning to look at her. "Are you with me?" she asked, looking from one to the other.

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked blankly.

Lu grinned at him. "It's twelve-thirty. I need to go."

"Go?" Quatre asked blankly.

"I'm meeting Matt for lunch," she returned, giving him a disbelieving look.

They blinked at her, then each other.

"You're not coming with me?" she demanded of Heero.

Heero looked down at his pajama pants, then raised his eyes to hers.

"Obviously not," she retorted, reading it in his eyes. She had to leave or she'd be late. "You're impossible, Yuy," she tousled his hair affectionately, then looked to Quatre's pajama bottoms with a raised eyebrow.

He grinned back at her.

"Anyway," she muttered, rolling her eyes and turning. "I'll be back in an hour or three. Be showered, will ya?" she started for the door.

"Why?"

If anyone other than Heero had asked that question, she'd have given them a disgusted look. "Because I assume we're going to do something," she retorted, and headed out the door.

"Oh," Heero looked back to Quatre. "She really just answered me."

Quatre grinned back, turning to sit properly. "She must not realize you've gotten a good grasp on sarcasm now."

Heero snickered, sitting back as well and considering the buttons of the controller. "Which one of us did it?"

- -

The fool woman obviously didn't even have half the sense of her lover...there was no trace in cyberspace of where the damn prince had gone off to, but the woman had her ticket information saved. She'd saved that information on her computer.

He couldn't really believe it on some levels, but on others he did. Who knew what had cued him off so early that he was a possible target, but he'd managed to disappear...aside from his woman.

Ranger parked his car, considering things.

LA...he'd only been to earth a handful of times, and he'd never been so awestruck as by the cityscape that had stretched as far as he could see in an direction. With so many lights, though, he hadn't been able to see the stars.

He considered the tall building as car after car went by beside him. That would be hard to get used to. The colonies didn't really need personal cars. They usually used the mass-transit system because the distances weren't all that great. Here, there were cars...car after car after car. He was parked in a line of them with a tall parking-tower to his side.

It was very strange to him, it always had been.

The apartment tower he was parked by was the address the girlfriend's rented car had been marked at. He'd had a time finding it to begin with, and then he hadn't been able to drive into the lot to look for the damn thing because you couldn't enter without a pass or calling in.

...he didn't exactly have a way to do that.

What he'd ended up doing, though, was parking on the street and walking into the area.

The car had been in the pent lot, which was a small section near the entrance of the place. He was waiting for the woman to come out, to see if she had the prince with her.

There was still no confirmation of him.

He hadn't been sitting there long. Maybe since ten...and it was twelve-thirty.

A dark head popped out of the building, a woman, folding up a piece of paper as she went. She laughed and waved behind her at someone inside, then bounced across the air-bridge.

Was that her? Ranger couldn't really remember the picture of her Rab had showed him. Rab had insisted he not hurt her in the slightest—Ranger had a feeling he'd had a crush on her...it looked like her.

She moved up to the rental car, making it beep before almost skipping to it.

She certainly was pretty.

Ranger grinned slightly, starting his engine. There were so many people and so many cars around, he doubted he'd be spotted in the melee. It was too bad he didn't know where she was going, though, because he'd really have to follow her now.

Ah well...if he had any luck left at all, she wouldn't even notice him.

- -

Matty twitched his leg irritably as his phone buzzed again. He didn't know who kept texting him, but if they didn't stop he was going to get in trouble.

"Our crew," he muttered to the married couple sitting across the table from him, "will take an hour or two to get it installed properly...and during that time..." he tried to ignore the buzz, "it would be more convenient not to have to work around people. Are you willing to vacate the home?"

"Of course," the man replied easily. "We've worked with your crews before."

The phone buzzed again.

Matty smiled at the man, wanting to laugh.

Who the hell was it? It was bad enough he'd been forty minutes late because he'd gotten caught in a snarl of traffic, he didn't need someone texting him so much...

"You still do the insurance stuff, right?" the woman asked curiously. She obviously wasn't so ready to give control of her home over for two hours.

It wasn't like they were going to steal anything, shit.

"Of course," Matty returned. "We like to have the assurance...to insure that our customers are protected in case something goes wrong."

The woman smiled at him.

Lu appeared in the aisle behind the couple, hitting a button.

The phone buzzed again.

Matty wanted to start laughing and smack her, but kept his composure. "When would you like the carpet installed?"

"As soon as you can manage it, really," the man said happily. "I always love coming here...you have the widest selection...and you're always so helpful."

Matty smiled at him, realizing he had worked with them before. He'd recognized them somewhat. He accessed the schedule on the computer screen, focusing on the available times. "How about tomorrow at two?"

"Really? That early?" the woman sat up excitedly.

Matty gestured at the screen, smiling at her as Lucretzia started to pirouette behind them.

Dear lord he was going to hurt her.

"I told you," the woman muttered to her husband. "You had to put it off..."

"I didn't want to go to that other place," he retorted, then smiled back at Matty.

Lucretzia posed in a come-get-me way.

Matty ran a hand down his face, trying to keep from laughing as he started typing up the information on the computer. "And what's the address?"

It didn't take him long to close the deal and send the couple off with a smile, and the entire time Lu bounced around the aisle behind them.

"I'm going to skin you," he hissed at her when they couple had turned the corner. "You're going to get me fired!"

She laughed delightedly, grabbing something off the shelf and bouncing across to him and showing him what she'd grabbed. "Excuse me, sir? What's this for?"

"You use it to knock out annoying visitors," Matty retorted.

She laughed delightedly. "Are you almost done?"

"I have to finish typing this up...here," he took the bottle from her. "Go to the back," he pointed at an aisle. "There's a door back there that says employees only. Go sit in there...I might get pulled aside by another customer, so it could be ten or fifteen minutes...you gonna make it?"

She laughed at that, straightening.

"Go," he instructed, waving her off and moving around the desk to put the bottle back.

She flashed him her sweet smile, then bounced off where he'd directed.

He pulled his phone out as he set the bottle where she'd grabbed it from, noting that the messages were all from her.

He snorted, putting that way and moving back toward the desk as another couple moved up to it.

"I'm sorry!" he cried, moving around quickly. "Hold on just a moment," he muttered. He typed up the last few lines he needed on the former order and moved to sit down.

Someone was moving at the end of an aisle, slowly, obviously watching down the aisle ahead of him.

Matty turned to look...and his heart stopped.

Ranger.

He stared at the man in horror, backing away from the console.

The couple waiting for him turned to look as well, alarmed...then confused, since Ranger wasn't a robber in any way they could see.

"I...I..." Matty couldn't make his voice work. "Excuse me," he squeaked at them, then turned...and fell over his chair.

"Are you okay?" the man asked, alarmed again. "Sir?"

Matty scrambled up from the floor, looking back...

Ranger was looking at him.

Matty half-tripped over the chair again, fear tearing at his chest...then turned and ran.

"Fuck!" Ranger snarled.

Matty didn't wait to see if he was chasing. He knew the store better than the man anyway, and he also knew the security was right inside the employee door.

He slammed through it, glancing back...no one was there, then darted into the room.

"Took you long enough!" Lu protested at him in mock exasperation.

"Matt? Matt?" one of the security guys shoved through the door, his dark face concerned. "Matt? What was that all about?"

"Ranger!" he spluttered, looking around to Lucretzia, realizing he was starting to shake. "Ranger was out there!"

Noin stared at him.

"What?" the man asked blankly.

Rick had heard the commotion, and moved from his little office, blinking at Matty in alarm. "What's wrong? You're white as a sheet."

"Ranger was out there," Matty persisted to Lucretzia, moving to her. "Call Max...call..."

"Ranger?" Rick asked, his eyes hardening. He looked to Lu, then around to the security guard. "Go check the last twenty minutes for strange behavior, please."

The man nodded, frowning as he turned back to his area.

"Are you sure it was Ranger?" Lucretzia asked calmly. "You're completely sure?"

Matty nodded, moving to lean against her as he pulled out his own phone.

"I'm going to call the police," Rick muttered, turning back toward his room.

"If he was here," Lucretzia noted, "they won't find him."

"But it needs marked if he was," Rick returned.

"You know what happened, I take it?" she asked.

"I do," the man agreed, studying her over. "And by the way he was talking to you, you must, too. Who are you?"

"Colonel Lucretzia Noin, unit five, Preventers," the words fell from her tongue as she shook her head. "Why would Ranger be here?"

"Max?" Matty muttered, still pressed to her front. "I just saw Ranger...here...yes. He...I don't know, he was walking up the aisle...and I saw him...and...no. They're looking...I know..." he trailed off a moment. "Can you come?"

There wasn't a force that would keep Heero away with that tone in Matty's voice.

Lu rested her arm around his shoulders, pulling out her own phone. Rick disappeared back into his office.

"Hey, Rick?" the black man muttered, moving in after. "There was someone there...he was watching the woman," he indicated Noin.

Lu felt coldness flow down her whole body.

"Hen is checking the parking lot...but he came in after her and...uh...kinda hung back while she was in the aisle."

Lucretzia had to smile at that, a bit embarrassed. She'd figured the cameras were picking up her antics, but Matty's composure hadn't broke in the slightest. She'd figured she hadn't done more than make a few men laugh, but if Ranger was there...why would Ranger be following her?

"Yo," Sally muttered, the sound of typing in the background. "What do you want, woman?"

"Mattox Williams just saw the former first lieutenant Deroy Hanagar of the fifty-seven specials, a.k.a. Ranger...here, at this branch of Casto Hardware."

"277," Matty supplied.

"Branch two-seventy-seven," Lu noted.

"Ranger? There? Mattox? That's the Helen-boy, isn't it?"

"Yes," Lucretzia returned. "The one he singled out."

Sally went quiet a long moment.

"The security says he was following me, Poe," Lu muttered quietly. "Williams called the brigadiers already...I imagine one or all of them will be here shortly to verify the visual. Let Une know. I may be compromised."

"Right," Sally returned, her tone business like. "Stay where you are, Colonel. Wait until you have back-up before leaving that room."

"Right," Noin agreed, staring off across the room.

If she was being followed...did that mean they had Zechs? If she was being followed...had he been aware?

She hadn't tried to hide her trail.

"Be careful, Lu," Sally muttered quietly. "All right?"

"I know," Lu returned. "I've got Matty with me."

Sally hmphed at that and hung up.

"Heero will be here in a minute," Matty whispered to her.

"I know," Lucretzia returned. "Don't worry about it, huh? I have my gun."

That made the kid snigger.

"Williams?" Rick called from the room. "Why don't you two come in here?"

- -

Ranger wanted to shout with rage as he stormed into his hotel room. He moved instantly to the bathroom to gather up the few things he had with him.

If the damn woman was at that store visiting that boy...that damned boy...

Mattox Williams...strange name for someone with at least half his blood Asian. His hair was black enough for it...and the tilt of his eyes.

Ranger grinned slightly as the image passed through his mind again. He'd seen the woman playing in the aisle, but had figured she'd lost her damn mind or something equally ridiculous. When she'd started talking to the kid behind the counter, she'd been bending over so all he saw was her ass. He supposed he could have lifted his eyes a little more and would have seen the damned boy before, but how was he to know that that was the branch of Casto the stupid former-prisoner worked in? It was LA, there were probably fifty of the damn stores in the city limits.

So that Gundam pilot, Yuy. He'd be on Ranger's trail fast.

It was still amusing to see the fear in the boy's face though. He'd been so terrified that he'd fallen over his own chair. He'd run like a damn jack-rabbit, too. Granted, Ranger had turned and left. He hadn't seen where the boy had headed. It was toward the back of the store like the woman.

It didn't matter. Yuy wouldn't be far away from his precious piece of ass. Jaden had said that even with him there and conscious the pair had kissed.

Didn't it figure? Didn't it fucking figure!?

Ranger snarled to himself as he turned back into the main room.

Where was he supposed to go?

His phone started ringing.

He stared at the number on it, cursing internally. Rab had said the former Gundam pilots were omnipotent. He'd sounded incredibly mocking when he'd said it, but he'd told Ranger a few stories about their finding people to back it up. They could find anyone, given the right amount of time. It didn't matter who, where they were from, where they were going...or who they were working for. No database was safe from the pilots, not even the most highly guarded federal agency could keep their data out of those hands—at least, that was the story.

"Hello?" he asked warily.

"This is Hoss," the man at the other end said. "Is this Ranger?"

"It is," Ranger returned reluctantly.

"Ah...Rab told me to contact you."

"I doubt that," Ranger returned skeptically. They were the right words, but what if he'd been found out?

"You doubt?" the guy asked blankly, then hesitated as he thought. "Show a little faith."

Faith. Still, there was no sure way...

"What do you need?" Ranger demanded.

"I'm to tell you that there are royal guests in the L-2 cluster, and your attendance is wanted," the guy returned. "I suppose it's some sort of conference."

L-2?

Ranger narrowed his eyes at the far wall.

"Ranger?" Hoss asked uncertainly. "Shall we detain your guest?"

"Are you able?" Ranger demanded, remembering his plight. He turned and started cramming clothes back into his bag.

"The security is lax," the man noted almost scathingly. "Evidently they don't value their prince very highly."

"Hm, if you're able, by all means extend him an invitation. I'll be there in a few hours."

"So quickly?" the guy asked blankly.

"I've been compromised at my present situation," Ranger snapped.

"Oh, that's why you doubted," the guy sounded enlightened. "Very well...we'll go extend your...invitation."

- -

Zechs snarled a curse as a man moved happily out of the shadows of a building, tossing a pair of handcuffs in his air languidly.

"Where are you off to so fast, princey?" someone asked from behind.

Milliardo turned his head to look at him, then back at the first...then at the others. They were climbing out of the wood works.

Well...this was a bullshit situation, wasn't it?

He cursed himself for staying put so long. He'd gotten drunk, that was why. Lu hadn't even been bothering to text him since her first few tries. She'd given up on him, hadn't she? And now this?

He reached for his weapon.

"Ah ah ah," a man muttered, moving up on his far side, pressing a long barrel to his side. "Let's not make anymore a scene than we have to."

"Screw you," Zechs spat at him...and reeled back as the man hit him across the face with the barrel. It hurt enough to stop him from moving, and he had a brief moment of stars. A large SUV pulled up beside them languidly, like a mother picking up her son.

"You've been invited to our fortress," the man with the cuffs informed him sweetly. "We'd be honored if you'd give us a few hours of your time before our friend comes and sweeps you off your feet."

Zechs started fighting as one of the men reached for his pockets, patting them down.

His phone...they were after his phone!

"Shut him up," the man with the cuffs suggested. "You don't want the cops finding us, do you?"

The man with the gun swung again...and this time, the stars were blinding...but then, it didn't matter anymore.