Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Falls the Shadow ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

C H A P T E R 5

Despite the hard ground, the humidity, and the discovery concerning her shoulder, Diana slept like a log that night, without the nightmares that had haunted her since she took on the case. Terror took a lot out of a person, and she had had her fair share in the past twenty-four hours. By morning she felt fully rested and ready for any challenge ahead of her. She pulled herself out of the sleeping bag just after dawn, and the first thing she noticed was Trowa's figure by the fire. "How long have you been up?"

"Hours."

"How long did you sleep?" He shrugged, and Diana figured he didn't stay down long. "Keeping watch?" Trowa nodded. Diana walked over and sat down beside him. "What did you do to protect us while you slept?"

"I set a trap." Diana didn't want to know how said trap worked, or what it would have done to any being unfortunate enough to stumble into it. She had figured out his connection to Quatre the night before, and, from her understanding, Gundam pilots were capable of nearly everything.

Instead of dwelling on the idea, Diana began to slowly rub her left shoulder with her right hand. It didn't hurt or feel unusual in any way, but knowing something was embedded in her shoulder caused her to keep reaching up at it. In the span of a few seconds, she felt another hand push hers away and feel for itself, and Diana could feel Trowa's gaze burn into her shoulder. "Does it feel any different? Any pain?"

Diana's head shook a negative gesture, some hair falling in Trowa's way. "Nope." To get another look, Trowa brushed the hair aside. Then he took her arm and moved it up and down, testing the range of motion in her shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure it's not hitting a pressure point. Relax your arm." Diana relaxed, and Trowa rolled her shoulder forward, then back. After that, he cradled her arm in his hands, gently bending the joints in her arm and hand. The touch, though chaste, was somehow intimate, and Diana decided she like the feel of his hands on her skin.

The tent rustled behind them. "What's wrong with Diana's arm?" Quatre asked, causing Diana to start slightly. Trowa didn't bat an eyelash.

"Nothing. I'm just making sure she didn't hurt it on the way out of the hospital," Trowa answered quickly. "She's fine." Diana suddenly felt uneasy; Trowa didn't exactly lie, but he didn't tell the whole truth, either. `Why are we hiding stuff from each other? Quatre deserves to know, right?'

"Oh. Well, I'm glad to hear that you came out okay." Quatre smiled at her, and Diana felt even worse. She reached for her sweater and pulled it on, flinching; she could almost feel pain in her shoulder as her conscience scolded her for saying nothing.

* * * * * * * * * *

After returning home, showering, wasting ten minutes trying to see the pin in her shoulder, grabbing a quick breakfast, and dashing out the door, Diana somehow made it to work on time. Still chewing on the last mouthful of her muffin, she stumbled into the Preventers building at exactly 8:00am. Perfect.

Diana had barely taken two steps inside the building before Wu Fei grabbed her by the arm and yanked. "Your office. Now." Taken by surprise, she let him drag her the entire way there. He watched with his arms folded as she unlocked the door and let them both in.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Wu Fei exploded. "What possessed you to break Winner out of the hospital?"

Diana gaped at him. "Pardon?"

"You broke Winner out of the hospital," Wu Fei repeated, his voice hovering somewhere between rage and disapproval. "Do you realize you're now facing criminal charges and expulsion from the force? I want to know what whim caused you to do something that reckless."

Diana felt her own temper begin to flare, and she advanced on Wu Fei. "I did no such thing!"

"A doctor who works in the ward Winner was in identified you, Simen."

"That's bullshit! The ward Quatre was in doesn't exist!"

Wu Fei scoffed. "Simen, that is the most ridiculous-"

"And I'm not the one who broke Quatre out of the hospital; Trowa is. I know you know him, because he said he's spoken with you. And the reason he broke Quatre out is because there's a fucking cult after Quatre, and now they're after me, and I'm a fugitive from the law for something I didn't fucking do and… GOD DAMMIT!!" Diana crumbled into a chair, on the verge of sobbing.

Wu Fei just stared at the defeated young woman. Surely, she couldn't be the strong, proud investigator who wouldn't cry in the presence of another living being. He crouched next to her so he could get a better view of her face. "…Diana?"

Her tears flowed freely now. "I don't know what to do…" Intimidated by Diana's sudden vulnerability, Wu Fei hesitantly put a hand on her knee. Diana looked at him. "Tsohg, you promised you would help me… tell me what to do."

Wu Fei reared back. "Wu Fei," he corrected automatically, wondering what had overcome Diana all of a sudden.

Diana blinked at Wu Fei a couple times, and the crying stopped. "I'm proud that you know your name."

"You just called me Tsohg."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did. You started crying and asked me what you should do, calling me Tsohg."

Diana pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "I wasn't-" She started to push the hair behind her ear, but stopped when she felt her cheek. After wiping her eyes, she looked down at the spent tears covering her hand. "…I was crying." She slumped forward, holding her head and sighing deeply. "I don't know. Everything's so screwed up. Quatre's messed up to the nines. He's blacked out and passed out and… was I ever underestimating when I thought it was simple hypnosis. Now, I'm losing it as well, apparently." She paused, then added under her breath, "And there was that whole thing with Trowa…"

"Barton? What about him?"

Diana snapped to attention. "Oh, nothing… I'm just thinking out loud." She stood, not eager to share that part of her experience with Wu Fei. "If I'm in as much shit as you say, then I need to get out of here." She crossed to the window and opened it, allowing the wind to tear through the room, then looked back at Wu Fei. "Will you cover? Tell them you never saw me."

"I will"

Diana smiled graciously. "Thank you." She climbed out of the window, hesitating on the fire escape outside it.

Wu Fei took advantage of the pause. He went to the window and stuck his head outside it. "Simen?"

"Hm?"

He made sure to have direct eye contact. "…Be careful."

Diana stood still for a few seconds, touched. Then she forced a smile and winked. "Aren't I always?" She scrambled down the fire escape and into the shadows of a nearby alley. Wu Fei watched, one thought playing over and over in his mind.

Diana Simen had jumped blindly into waters she couldn't reach. And didn't know how to swim.