Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Eyes Cold As Stone ❯ Chapter Thirteen ( Chapter 13 )

Eyes Cold As Stone

Chapter 13

"How is our pilot, Colonel?"

"Stubborn as al hell, but we're tearing him down."

"Any information?" The Colonel shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but he's told us nothing except that the Gundams do not exist."

"Not true." Jezebel snarled at Colonel Satavich. "Gundams 01 and 05 have already attacked three of our bases."

"Then he lied."

"Of course he lied, Colonel. That's why were trying to break him." She grabbed the Colonel. "Three of our bases are gone, Colonel. One of them was a Node base. I want that pilot broken. Now. I need information before I can formulate a plan, understood?"

"Yes sir."

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The bastard!

How dare that annoying little Gundam pilot lie to him. He stormed down the passageway toward the interrogation room. How dare that pilot be able to withstand his punishment. How dare he be able to fight. Colonel Satavich let lose a savage bellow.

"Private Anderson." His aide ran into the room and saluted. "Bring me the pilot. I will also need one hundred Cc's of Truth Serum."

"Sir, one hundred Cc's will seriously damage the pilot, if not kill him, based on his reactions so far."

"I know, Private. I don't care. The bastard lied to us. Three bases are now completely destroyed. Our pilot will pay. Bring me one hundred fucking Cc's of fucking Truth Serum."

"Yes sir. Right away, sir." Private Anderson fled from the room while the Colonel began pacing the interrogation chamber like a caged panther.

God. Three bases, destroyed by Gundams. Fuck! He ran his hands through his hair. That bastard pilot will pay. He will break. If it was the last thing on Earth the he did, he would break that fucking pilot. He smiled and stopped pacing. He, Colonel Satavich, would destroy a Gundam pilot. Once he killed pilot 04, he would capture and destroy another one, and another one, until he destroyed them all. There would be no stopping him, then. Not even Jezebel could stand up to him.

Oh, yes. He would destroy the blonde. He looked up as the door to the interrogation room opened and the blonde was thrown in. He grinned.

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He was flung roughly into the room he dubbed the Interrogation Room. Of course, that was putting a good face on things. The rough cement dug into his knees as he slid mercilessly across the floor. He bit his lip to keep from crying out as the guards who had escorted him here each used him as target practice. As much as this hurt, he wished they would continue so he wouldn't have to face the torment that loomed ahead.

"Looking good today, my pet." The Colonel said cheerily. God how he wanted to wipe that smile off his face. He contemplated several ways of returning pain to the Colonel. He could feel the corners of his mouth turn upward. He smiled.

"What are you smiling about, whore?" Quatre shrugged. The Colonel approached, looking like a living nightmare. "Tell me something, my pet, are you going to scream for me?" He felt the Colonel's fist impact with his cheekbone. Pain lanced through his skull making his eyesight dim momentarily.

"I want you to scream." The words echoed through Quatre's head and he clutched at his hair, willing for the nightmare to be over. The Colonel's deep laughter filtered in his breaking mind, and he knew the nightmare had just begun.

"Was the Truth Serum too much, pet? Or was it not enough?" Truth Serum. Now he remembered. They had injected him with the vile stuff. His only comfort being that he knew that there was no way he could've said anything. Quite frankly, he was surprised that he was still alive. Instructor H once tried to condition him to be immune to the Serum, but after almost killing him, the Instructor gave up. He idly wondered how long ago they had administered the chemical, and how much they had given him. With the way his body reacted, he could have had multiple seizures and lost consciousness days ago. He resisted the urge to scratch his elbow, something he had been doing a lot of lately.

"Not going to talk, pet?" Quatre glared at the Colonel accepting the well placed punch that came his way. The kick while he was down was unexpected and therefore, a small grunt escaped his lips. The Colonel smiled a truly frightening smile.

"Maybe you will scream for me." He wanted to scream, but he was a Gundam pilot, and he was strong. He wouldn't scream. He wouldn't. More punches and kicks came his way as his hair was pulled, dragging him across the bloody floor. How much of this blood is mine?

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He slipped into the compound, the bag of explosives heavy on his back. Get in, search for Quatre, plant explosives, get out, detonate. So simple, he'd done stuff like this innumerable times before. This was just one more. He stealthily made his way toward the detention cells, planting a few explosives here and there.

"We'll go into town tomorrow. I know a good bar." Wufei pressed against a shadowed wall and waited for the soldiers to pass. They paused, so close that he could touch them. One bent down to readjust his boot saying something about whores that was lost to the sound of rushing blood in his temples. His heart thudded anxiously in his chest and his fingers sought the comfort of the scabbard strapped to his back. The soldier stood, and the pair continued on. Counting to twenty, he stepped from the shadows and continued on to find Quatre.

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Grunting with blinding pain, he rolled to his side, attempting to relieve his dislocated shoulder. With his wrists captured in his bonds, there wasn't any other way to relieve the pain. He spit out the coppery blood that had pooled in his mouth, coughing as he did. Pain, pain, and more pain. His world was reduced to that one sensation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Colonel advance. He closed his eyes.

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"Have you gotten any other leads?"

"No." Heero sighed. He'd been attached to his computer for the past several hours trying to find any clues as to where Quatre was. Each keystroke was making the possibility that Quatre was dead, more and more of a reality, and Duo knew it as well. Which explained why Duo was chewing on his nails, wearing a path in the carpet.

"I refuse to believe he's dead, Heero." It looked as if Duo might cry. "He can't be." This last part was a broken whisper.

"When was the last time you slept?" He asked, concerned, fingers never halting in their frantic search.

"Friday."

"Today's Wednesday, Duo."

"I know."

"Get some sleep. I'll call you as soon as I find something."

"Promise?" With this, he did stop.

"Of course, Duo." Duo nodded weakly and picked up his keys.

"Thanks, Heero. Fer tryin' so hard." Duo slumped out the door, hopefully to sleep. He sighed and returned his attention to his search.

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"Scream for me." No! I will not scream. I cannot scream. I am a Gundam pilot. He coughed up more blood, moaning as his body screamed in protest. No more. Another hit, more blood coughed up, no end to the pain.

"Scream for me."

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Quatre, where are you, my love? I need you. Where have they taken you? He maneuvered the truck into a clearing, just a mile away from an enemy base. I love you, Quatre. I'm coming for you. I'll kill anyone who's made you suffer. He jumped up onto the prone figure of Heavyarms and crawled into the cockpit, bringing the suit to life. Nothing will get in the way of me and my Little One. Oh, Quatre, please hang on. He aimed the suit toward the sleeping base and approached his target. I'm coming for you, Little One. I'm coming.

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Duo trudged silently to the bar.

"S'up, man?" The doorman, Scott, called out. "You don't look that hot. What's wrong?" Duo wanted to cry. "Look man, it'll be okay. Go in and talk to Liam. He'll make you feel better. Go on!" He was gently shoved inside Nallen's. Nothing could make him feel better. Not without Quatre. Tears slipped their way down his cheeks. Why was it that everyone he loved was taken away from him. First Solo, then Sister Helan and Father Maxwell, now Quatre.

"I'll never get close to anyone again."

"Come now, Duo, you know that's not true." Liam poured him a shot of Tuaca. "On me. You look like shit." He smiled distantly.

"Thanks."

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"Bring me the Truth Serum. We'll try that again. He's got to break at some point"

"Don't you want to play with him?"

"Don't worry. I fully intend to." Quatre didn't like the predatory gleam in the Colonel's eyes. The shackles binding his wrists prevented him from scratching his elbow. He cringed when the Colonel filled the syringe up with one hundred Cc's of Serum. The typical dose was about fifteen Cc's. This wasn't good.

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Shit. Quatre wasn't here. Wufei surveyed the empty cells. He placed an explosive in one of the cells and backtracked to Command Central. The center of operations for this base had a date with an explosive. Maybe Trowa will find Quatre or Heero will find a clue. He pushed open the door to Command Central. He smiled.

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"Target locked." Trowa eased his thumb down on the trigger. This is for Quatre. The main building exploded in grainy hues of red and orange. Now to the detention building. Please, God. Let Quatre be unharmed.

"Proceeding to main target."

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His veins felt like they were full of molten steel, making the repeated beatings seem feather light.

"Talk, bastard. Where are the Gundams?" He said nothing. Soon enough he would fall into the painful sleep induced by the Truth Serum. He spit out more blood and gasped for air.

"Talk!" His broken body was flung against the table. He grasped the edge with broken fingers, fighting the sudden wave of nausea.

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Duo rested his head on the bar, sobbing. His half-empty glass sat near by. Oh, Quatre. He grasped his braid like a lifeline.

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Parry. Thrust. Block. Stab. Wufei dogged another attack. How he had been spotted, he didn't know, but here he was, one hundred meters outside the base fighting for his life. Retreat. Attack.

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Quatre's nerves were on fire and his skin felt like it was flaking off. He pressed his cheek to the cool metal surface of the table even as his arms started to twitch.

"Ask him why Gundam 03 is currently attacking another base." Quatre barely noticed the steely female voice, or the name of his love's suit.

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His missiles launched, streaking toward the remains of the base. Quatre wasn't there. Tears rolled down his face, as he launched another wave.

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Tap, tap, tap… Shit. He'd been discovered. Heero desperately tried to cover his tracks. Taptaptaptap…

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"Hello, lover. Runnin' again?" A masculine hand painfully squeezed his shoulder.

"Look, pal. I've told you to get the fuck away from me." Rotten teeth sneered at him.

"Now I don't remember that." The ugly man's other hand grabbed him between his legs.

"Sure you do." Duo punched him.

"Fuck! You bitch!"

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"Jezebel should see this. She's got a sick sense of humor." Quatre closed his eyes and bit his lip to keep from crying out. Blood streamed down his chin.

"Now scream."

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His attacker's sword bit into his flesh as he dogged a blow too slowly. He growled and threw himself on the opponent.

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Machine gun fire echoed strangely inside Heavyarms, rocking it precariously. Quatre.

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Fuck. They've got me cornered. Gotta pull out before they get to my computer.

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Duo's knuckles contacted with soft flesh even as his half-empty glass exploded on his head.

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Something inside of him ripped as he began seizing uncontrollably.

"Scream for me."

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Wufei kicked the body off of his sword and pulled out the detonator. Smiling, he pressed it.

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The anti-mobile suit missiles slammed into his suit, breaking the fuel line. He pulled back, racing toward the truck.

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Heero closed the last of the connections, but not before a picture flashed on his screen.

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Sparks flashed in Duo's vision and he staggered.

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"Scream for me."

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Click. This is justice.

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Trowa jumped from the cockpit as explosions rocked his suit.

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"Oh, God. Quatre." Heero stared at the picture.

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Darkness closed in as he fell from the bar.

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The blood-curdling scream was ripped from Quatre's throat.

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Ka-boom. "Justice."

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The world faded to black. "I love you, Quatre."

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Heero's anguished howl echoed through the building.