Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Colonist Labour Camp no. 125 ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Do I look like I own Gundam Wing to you? Ok, I am Japanese, but no. Seriously, I do not own the Gundam boys, and I certainly have nothing worth suing me for. ^^

Rating: R for safety, but this may change later.

Warnings: Um, good question. Shounen-ai/yaoi, violence, general cruelty all round. Language, angst (can't do without the angst!), OOC (I try my best, but sometimes they just slip out of character…), OCs (forgot to mention this earlier, oops), um… I think that's it. I'll be adding to this list as I go along, probably, so keep an eye on it people!

Pairings: Ooh, secret. ^_~

Author's notes: The Shell: Everyone, you have The Shell to thank for this chapter. Her (I apologise so utterly profusely if you are in fact a guy) review really got my plot bunnies nibbling again. I am very, very grateful both for that and for your ideas and requests!

NightmareShinigami: LOL, fair enough ^^;; Thanks for reviewing!

And now, on with the chapter.

 

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Duo gobbled down his dinner (`Beef Surprise'. No-one knew quite what the surprise was) in the space of a minute. “I'm absolutely fuckin' starvin',” he complained with a lopsided grin. “I didn' realise there ain't a lunch break.”

 

“Oh, damnit! We forgot to tell you to save some of your breakfast…” 04 trailed off, looking guilty.

 

Duo gave 04 an affectionate smile. “Hey, no worries,” he said reassuringly. “It's not like you forgot on purpose, s'probably my fault fer rambling on at ya during brekkist.”

 

A half-smile tugged at 05 at Duo's pronunciation of `breakfast'. During dinner, 05 usually (but not always) liked to keep quiet; part of his technique to endure the torturous life they led. He would keep his eyes down, but would listen to the conversations and allow them to lead him into a sense of peace. The others had all learnt that during dinner, 05 wouldn't say a word even when spoken to (unless, of course, he was addressed by an officer). Unfortunately for 05, when 03 explained this to Duo in his gentle monotone, the self-proclaimed L2 street rat took it up as a challenge.

 

“Ya were workin' on diggin' again, weren't ya? Yeesh, must be real hard on ya. Ya don't seem too tired, though. How's that? Inner strength an' all that? Or maybe ya just real strong, I dunno. Care ta explain? Or, ya can just sit there like that and ignore me, that's fine too…”

 

“Duo, we told you, today isn't a dinner-talking day for 05,” 04 reprimanded gently.

 

Duo just shrugged and grinned. “Hey, the way I see it, if I try ta get him ta talk, I get to ramble on abou' any random thing, which means you an' the others can ignore me. An' 05 can jus' keep on bein' silent. Everyone's happy.”

 

“Yes, but…” 04 floundered a little. “Surely it annoys 05. 05? Does Duo talking at you like that annoy you?”

 

05 debated internally whether to shake his head, nod or roll his eyes. He decided on the fourth option; keep still and silent.

 

“05? Does…” 04 was cut off by Duo laughing merrily. “What?” he asked, looking slightly annoyed.

 

“Nothin'. S'just, you're goin' on about how me tryin' ta get 05 ta talk must be annoying for him, yet you're doin' the exact same thing. But please, feel free ta continue,” Duo chuckled, violet eyes sparkling in amusement.

 

04 kicked Duo under the table and resumed eating. Duo grinned, kicked 04 back and resumed chattering at 05. He somehow managed to keep up a monologue all the way through the rest of dinner, the others choosing not to interrupt him in favour of seeing how long it would be before either 05 cracked, or Duo ran out of things to say. To their surprise, neither happened.

 

At quarter to nine, the bell rung to signal the end of dinner. As one, the colonists stood up and took their plates to the front of the canteen where they stacked them in piles for the colonists who were on washing duty that evening to clean and put away. Once this was accomplished, 03, 04, 05 and Duo bid farewell to 09 and were escorted back to the cells for the night by a random corporal who none of them recognised. They reached their small cell and were pushed roughly inside. Duo was the first in (presumably to minimise his chances to make trouble) and 04 was last. He was given an especially hard shove and tripped, landing hard on the cold stone floor with a winded gasp. He sat up slowly, coughing and wheezing for breath.

 

“Watch your step,” the corporal sneered. “Sweet dreams.”

 

“And sweet dreams ter you, fucker,” Duo snarled. 05 could hear a grin in his voice and spun round worriedly in time to see Duo punch the corporal in the stomach, hard. Winded, the corporal tried to yell for help, but was abruptly silenced as Duo brought both fists down on the back of his neck with a satisfying thump, knocking him out cold.

 

“D-Duo!” 04 gasped. He tried to say more, but was hit by a sudden coughing fit and doubled over, 03 kneeling by his side and rubbing his back with a very worried expression on his normally stoic face.

 

“04, you ok?” Duo asked. But something about his voice was different now; it was more clipped, concise. Concern still shone through, but it was dampened, as though someone had personified it and covered it with a thick blanket. Looking up at him, 05 stared hard at Duo's eyes, studying them suspiciously. Sure enough, violet flames were beginning to flicker into life, getting wilder and stronger by the second.

 

04 nodded, though it was evident he was having great difficulty breathing. Before 03 could contradict 04's affirmation, Duo's grin grew manic and he said, “Great. Keep the door open fer me, will ya?”

 

“Wha… Wait! Where are you…?!” But 05's words were lost as Duo darted out of the metal door, giving it a passing shove; not enough to completely close it, but enough to make it look less suspicious to a patrolling officer.

 

“Where… Where does he think he's going?!” 05 spluttered, alarmed and clearly torn between following Duo and staying with 04, who seemed to be getting steadily worse instead of better.

 

“He… He's…” 04 wheezed, before elapsing into coughs again.

 

03 immediately hushed him. “You shouldn't talk,” he said firmly. “That fall brought back the coughing. Don't talk. Just breathe. Slowly.”

 

The blond boy nodded, giving 03 a grateful look with his aquamarine eyes that were once so clear and full of life, but were now dulled and glazed over with exhaustion, stress and pain. It hurt 03 inexplicably, deep down inside him, to see 04's eyes in such a state. He shrugged off the feeling however, and rubbed gentle circles on 04's back to try and soothe the coughs.

 

As 03 did so, 05 moved towards the door, reaching out and pulling on the edge so that it was almost completely shut - only a tiny crack of light shone through. Then, having second thoughts, he pushed the door open again and dragged the unconscious officer inside the cell before repositioning the door. “There,” he muttered, before sitting down in front of 04.

 

The coughs were gradually starting to subside at last, and 04 raised his head and sucked in a deep breath. “He's finding… the… database,” he gasped, rubbing his chest with one hand while the other rested on the ground beside him, supporting him.

 

“Database?” 03 frowned. “What databa….”

 

03 and 05 looked at each other, incredulous. “He's going to find our names?”

 

04 gave them a weak smile and nodded. He leant gently against 03, who realised with alarm that 04 was shaking rather badly. “04? You're not alright, are you?” 03 said, more of a statement than a question.

 

“M'ok,” 04 replied weakly. A sudden shudder ran through him. “M'just… just cold. That's all.”

 

03 frowned, placing a hand on 04's forehead. “Cold? You're burning up!” he said worriedly.

 

“Really? I feel cold.” As if on cue, another shudder raced through 04.

 

03 hesitated, then gently pulled 04 onto his lap where he held the smaller boy against his chest, arms wrapped protectively around him. “Shh…” he murmured soothingly, even though 04 wasn't making any noise. “Shh…”

 

He blinked in surprise as 04 suddenly snuggled into him, as though attempting to burrow into his warmth. The surprise turned to a much warmer emotion though, and 03 rocked 04, pale and shivering, slowly back and forth, never taking his eyes off him, seemingly forgetting everything else in the Universe other than the Arabic boy in his arms.

 

05 let them be, choosing to fetch his blanket and wrap himself up in it, lying down in his corner so that he could observe them unobtrusively. He saw the affection on 03's face, more obvious than ever. 03 wasn't troubling to mask it seeing as 04 was currently oblivious to it. He saw 04's contentment, ill as he was. It could be seen in the way his shoulders relaxed, the way his head was tilted more upward than was natural for the position he was in so that his nose was nestled comfortably in the juncture between 03's throat and shoulder. And though none of the three colonists in the room knew it, there was a small smile on 05's face, full of affection for his friends who were far fonder of each other than they cared to realise. But the smile was also tinted with sad wistfulness - an emotion that 05 didn't even know he felt. But it was there all right. It was there, showing the uncaring cell walls that 05 wanted what 04 had; someone to hold him in gentle arms, someone to murmur soothing words in his ear, someone to take care of him…

 

Someone to love him.

 

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Duo ran down the dimly lit corridors, sticking to the shadows at the edges. The boots he wore made very little noise, ensuring that he was as silent as it is possible for a running human to be. His black priest's clothing blended well with the shadows; half the reason Duo wore them.

 

There was no grin on Duo's face now. He was concentrating carefully, remembering how he'd been brought to the cell he was staying in, then reversing it to try and find the room that held the computer. It was hard; he had been barely conscious most of the way, and in a lot of pain from the beatings he'd been given. Nearly half the corridors Duo hurried down were wrong turns, forcing him to backtrack and find the correct way. But far from frustrating him, Duo was enjoying the challenge which was made all the harder by officers patrolling the buildings.

 

His eyes glowed sinisterly and he wished he'd thought to take a weapon from the corporal he'd knocked out. Then he wouldn't have so much of a problem hiding from the Ozzies; he could just kill them and be done with it. Never mind, too late now. It would be too risky to knock another one out and take their weapons instead. They might be able to raise the alarm before reaching unconsciousness, and that would be a disaster.

 

He was very close to the computer room now. He recognised the dark blue door that said simply, `Detention Cell B'. From there, he went left, and then left again.

 

“Bingo,” he murmured, the manic grin creeping back into place.

 

He was standing in front of the computer room, the large double doors giving it away. Duo smirked and crouched down, unzipping his left boot partway and sliding a couple of fingers inside, feeling for the hidden pocket. He located it quickly and fished out a pair of slim metal objects, shaped like wires. One was roughly two inches in length, the other three.

 

Duo pushed the two inch one back into the hidden pocket and zipped the boot back up again, standing up with the three inch piece of metal in his hand. It was a lockpick designed specially for electronic locks. The one that Duo had dismissed was the lockpick that worked for the old-fashioned locks that were operated with metal keys.

 

Carefully, Duo inserted the lockpick in the slot meant for key-cards at a forty-five degree angle. Then he twisted it sharply, applying pressure so that the lockpick got jammed in the computerised mechanism. Using the jammed end of the lockpick as a pivot, he wiggled the other end slowly back and forth until the light above the lock suddenly glowed green.

 

Duo's eyes gleamed with satisfaction and he pulled the lockpick out with a twist, pulling each end until it was straightened out again before pushing the right-hand door open, slipping into the room as soon as there was a gap big enough. He shut the door and, having made sure that there wasn't an electronic lock on this side, he hid the lockpick in the top of his braid.

 

The computer room was bigger than he remembered it. The illusion of size disappeared however, once Duo turned on the light. He hurried over to the computer, sitting himself down in front of it and turning it on. He waited for it to load up impatiently, drumming his long, nimble fingers on the desktop until it was done.

 

“Lessee…” he muttered to himself, clicking on the third folder down which was labelled `Colonists'.

 

Duo held down ctrl + f then typed in, `4505'. He pressed enter and the correct entry came up on the bottom of the screen. He scrolled down a little and read it, carefully memorising it. It said:

 

`Chang, Wufei. L5. DOB - Dec. 31stBP 16(1). Date of registration - Feb. 8th CD 0(2). Race - Chinese (Mandarin). Approx. height - 5”9/10.'

 

Duo stopped reading at that point, as the rest of the information didn't seem useful. He searched for 3904.

 

`Raberba Winner, Quatre. L4. DOB - Nov. 17th BP 16. Date of registration - Feb. 27th CD 0. Race - Arabic (Northern Egyptian). Approx. height - 5”8.'

 

“Huh,” Duo said out loud. “Happy late birthday, Quatre Raberba Winner.”

 

Next was 4603.

 

`Barton, Trowa. L3. DOB - Sept. 7th BP 17. Date of registration - Jan. 30th CD 0. Race - Caucasian (unknown, assumed American/English). Approx. height - 6”0.'

 

Finally came 1009.

 

`Noin, Lucrezia Alicia. DOB'

 

Duo didn't get a chance to read any more as a cold voice cut through the air of the room. “Doing research, colonist?”

 

The self-proclaimed street rat was up and out of the chair in a flash, left forearm held up in front of his mouth and jaw from habitual instinct, right hand hitting the inside of the left forearm, instinct hoping to trigger the spring-loaded holster hidden there. Unfortunately, the knife holster had of course been taken from him when he was captured, and so nothing happened. But the nothing happening caused Duo to pause for a split second in consternation, mind furiously processing the fact that the knife wasn't there, and then realising why. That split second caused a fast downfall.

 

Three officers, two from the sides and one from behind, swiftly grabbed hold of Duo One of them swiped at the back of Duo's knees, forcing them to give way so that Duo was completely off balance. Duo struggled and kicked, but he was forced down to the floor and a pair of steel manacles was locked around his slim wrists behind his back.

 

One of the three officers was Captain Mueller. He hauled on Duo's braid until he was kneeling rather than lying, then grabbed his chin none too gently. “How the hell did you get out of your cell?” he hissed angrily, teeth clenched.

 

Duo made as if to reply, but abruptly pulled his jaw away from the irate Captain and bit down on his calloused hand. Hard.

 

“Bastard!!”

 

The Lieutenant on Duo's right brought his rifle across Duo's forehead with a sickening crack, causing Duo to relinquish his hold on the Captain's hand as he yelled out in pain. “Motherfucking bastard!” he swore furiously. He started to thrash around again, but the blow to his head had upset his balance and as he tried to get up one leg caved out from underneath him.

 

“Enough!” ordered the same cold voice that Duo had heard before. Purely out of desire to get a good look at who was talking, Duo obeyed, stilling himself and blinking trickles of blood out of his eyes. His forehead was a blaze of pain and he was having trouble focussing, but he was able to see that the person in front of him was none other than the OZ General himself.

 

Said General was fixing a stony stare at the colonist kneeling in front of him. He took in the ruffled clothes, the long chestnut braid that was somewhat scruffy from the struggle, the set jaw, the good-looking, attractive face, and the crowning features: twin orbs of blazing, fiery darkness. Dangerous, deadly, beautiful. `Like a wildcat,' the General thought privately.

 

“This is the colonist who was captured just recently, sir,” Captain Mueller said stiffly. Duo was savagely pleased at the expression of pain he wore and the blood that dripped through the fingers of his other hand, which was clutching at the wounded one.

 

“I guessed as much,” the General nodded. He took a few steps forward so that he was barely a metre away from Duo. The long-haired boy was surprised to see that the General was even younger than he looked in newspapers or on television. He looked maybe about twenty, if that.

 

“What were you researching?” he asked in his quiet yet commanding monotone. Duo just smirked at him and got a vicious kick in the ribs for his lack of courtesy. He tried not to, but couldn't help but wince at the fresh pain.

 

“Other colonists,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

 

The General raised an eyebrow just a fraction. “Oh? Which colonists?”

 

“Various ones,” Duo shrugged, bringing his eyes up to meet the General's in a clash of violet and Prussian blue.

 

The young colonist's gaze was a challenging glare, but the General's was merely a cold gaze that hid completely how interested he was in this boy, the very reason he'd come to this Labour Camp in the first place.

 

To his amazement and utter fury at himself, Duo was the first to break the connection, dropping his eyes to the ground. He wanted to resume the glare, but found himself totally unable to look anywhere near the General's face. He put it down to the blow to the head he'd received and silently cursed the Lieutenant.

 

The General regarded Duo thoughtfully for a moment longer before looking to Captain Mueller instead. “Take him to one of the detention blocks,” he said. “I would like to talk to him in the morning.”

 

The officers gathered there nodded and Captain Mueller tugged sharply at Duo's braid (one of his favourite activities now) to get him up, relishing the hate-filled glare that was directed at him. “Don't like me touching your braid, do you?” he sneered triumphantly. He was about to say more, but was stopped short.

 

“You will not touch him until the morning.” The General was already half-way out the double doors, but upon hearing Captain Mueller's words he had spun around and had issued the command, levelling a glare at him.

 

Captain Mueller was stunned, but saluted hastily and nodded. “Yes, General Yuy,” he said smartly before turning and pushing Duo through a small door at the back of the room.

 

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(1) Stands for Before Peace, remember?

(2) Colonists' Defeat.

 

Sandy: You have The Shell to thank for the idea of Duo being found by the General as well. ^_^;; I hope it was to your liking. It's not fabulous, but it's longer than all my other chapters and I'm not very well right now, so… *shrugs*

And hey-hey, Heero has arrived! I'm not going to put it into any of the chapters as I'm too lazy to think of a way I could work it in, so I'm just going to say now; that's what Lieutenant Colonel Merquise (i.e. Sexy Zechsy) called Nichol to say. That the General would be coming earlier than planned, I mean.

The birthdays I used are all from this FANTASTIC site: http://www.trowaluvsduo.net/zodiac.htm