Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 29 ( Chapter 29 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot line and any other characters that appear here that are not in the Gundam Wing Universe; please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Warnings: Angst, sap, fluff, violence, Mpreg.

 

Rating: NC 17

 

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, HxOC

 

Summary: Sequel to Chimaera. Life in the Maxwell -Yuy household has undergone some big changes when Duo brings Keitaro home from the hospital. Hilde's wedding is approaching and the guys find there's more to this baby business than they thought. Struggling to raise a child, work at Preventer and keep the home happy is certainly a trial for both guys. Add an assassin's threats to prominent government officials' lives and both men find their lives are suddenly changed. Just how far will one go to protect the ones he loves?

 

Dedication: to all my lovely readers out there who enjoyed Chimaera and have since begged, threatened, pleaded, bribed and blackmailed me for a sequel. ^_^

 

 

 

 

"Family Ties"

 

January. 2007 ShenLong

 

Chapter 29

 

Whilst Wufei waited for the commander to pick up, Heero continued to puzzle over his husband's out of character disappearance. He couldn't come up with any logical explanation for Duo's absence; as for Nurse Brown and Keitaro? Heero didn't have a clue.

 

“Commander? I apologize for calling you out of hours, but something has come up,” Wufei began.

 

Once Wufei had briefly outlined the situation, he passed the cell over to Heero. “Une wishes to speak with you.”

 

Taking the cell, Heero placed it to his ear. “Yuy here.”

 

“Yuy? What exactly is going on?”

 

Heero sighed. “As Chang has already informed you, Duo left work a little earlier as he had a couple of things he wanted to follow through on regarding the case we're currently investigating. When I arrived home he wasn't here.”

 

“He is allowed to go out you know,” Une stated.

 

“His cell is here, the security system wasn't turned on and some of his knives are missing. This is not normal for Duo. He hasn't contacted me as to his whereabouts, nor has he left me a note. Commander, my son and his nanny are also missing.”

 

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment before Une spoke again. “Have you tried to contact the nanny?”

 

“Hai. Her cell rings out. Given Keitaro is normally fed and bathed at six-thirty, then goes to bed at seven, this is extremely out of character.” Heero glanced at the clock; it was seven-fifteen.

 

Une wasn't silly. She knew Margaret reasonably well and the nurse had always been a stickler for routine - especially where children were concerned. She had to agree with Heero, this was very unusual for the nurse. “Yuy, there isn't a lot we can do right now. This could be something simple like a flat tire or mechanical problem. Maybe she's caught up in traffic and her cell is flat which is why you can't contact her. As for Maxwell; there is probably a simple explanation for his absence too. But, having said all that, I think it might be wise to err on the side of caution. I'll have an alert put out to all agents to keep an eye out for Maxwell, the nurse and your son. Given the law, I cannot initiate a proper investigation until the parties have been missing for at least twenty-four hours.”

 

“That's bullshit!”

 

Wufei's head jerked up at Heero's tone.

 

“YUY!” Une barked. “Let me finish!”

 

“My apologies, Commander. It's just that...”

 

“I do understand, Yuy. I know you must be worried sick over their absence. Whilst we have to wait the regulation time before lodging an official missing person's report to the proper authorities, there's nothing to say we can't begin to look for clues now.”

 

That made Heero feel a little better; but not much.

 

“I will need a full description of Margaret's car and her license plate. Also a description of Maxwell's car and license plate. I'll have them distributed amongst Preventer personnel as soon as possible. If they still haven't turned up once the waiting period is over, I'll pass all that information on to the local police and I expect you to accompany me to lodge the missing persons forms.”

 

“Thank you.” Heero felt a little relieved that at least something was being done and passed on the information Une had requested regarding the vehicles.

 

“I know I'm probably wasting my breath here, but do try to get some rest tonight, Yuy. You have my permission to remain off duty tomorrow if you wish given the circumstances. However, if you do choose to come to work, I will need you fully functional. If, in the meantime, any or all of the three turn up, or you do get in touch with them, I expect you to notify me immediately. Other than that, try to think of anything, anything at all that may indicate where any of them may have gone and report direct to me in the morning.”

 

“I'll try, Commander.”

 

“Yuy?”

 

“Hai?”

 

“We will find them.”

 

Heero just nodded and handed the cell back to Wufei. The Chinese man exchanged a few more words with Une before disconnecting the call.

 

“Yuy?”

 

Heero looked up at his friend and fellow agent.

 

“I need to call Sally. She may be able to help us regarding the nanny and her possible whereabouts.”

 

“Okay.” Heero sat in silence, thinking deeply while Chang made his call. He could hear the low murmur of Wufei's voice as he informed Sally of their situation, but he didn't dwell on it; his mind was too preoccupied with trying to figure out where Duo or his son could be.

 

* * *

 

“I'll be back for you in two hours,” Duric said as he left Duo at the top of the basement stairs and locked the door.

 

Running a weary hand over his face, Duo ascended the stairs, thankful that their captors had at least left the light on this time. He spotted Nurse Brown sitting on the bed, Keitaro curled up and asleep beside her. The nurse's face was pale and withdrawn, Duo could see the pain etched into her features, even though she was doing her best to hide it.

 

At the sound of the closing door, Margaret looked up as Duo returned. “What is going on?” she asked, grimacing slightly as she moved and jolted her broken wrist.

 

Duo didn't want to lie, but he didn't want the nurse worrying unduly either. He decided that it would probably be in everyone's best interest if he told her the complete truth about the severity of their situation. “How is your wrist?” Duo asked, trying to gain a little time in which to order his thoughts in response to her question.

 

“It's still broken and hurts a lot, but I can cope,” Nurse Brown replied. “Now, answer my question. What do they want from us, or more specifically, you?”

 

Duo sat down and cradled his head in his hands. “It's a long story.”

 

“I'm not exactly going anywhere,” the nurse responded with a small attempt at humor.

 

Duo gave her a wry grin, letting her know he appreciated her efforts. “I'll try to keep it as brief as possible.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Tell me, do you remember when we went to L2 for Hilde's wedding?”

 

“Of course,” the nurse replied with a small smile.

 

“Whilst we were there, I don't know if you noticed or not, but there was a small amount of rebuilding and restoration going on.”

 

“All the colonies are currently being rebuilt and the like. I do remember the news reports from after the war and commend the ESUN for putting such a large scale operation into practice.”

 

“Yeah, the intent is there.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

 

Duo sighed and continued. “There is funding making it through, however, in L2's case, the funding is a lot less than for the other colonies.”

 

“I don't understand.”

 

“This is part of the case Heero and I are currently working on. It seems that the funds allocated and what actually makes it through to the colony in the form of aid, do not add up. All the other colonies appear to be rebuilding at a much faster pace. There's a lot more materials and assistance on the other colonies than there currently is on L2.”

 

“You mean?”

 

“Yes. Somewhere along the line it appears that money is going missing. It seems we are not the only ones to have picked this up and started investigating it. These guys have been doing a little of their own research and are not particularly happy that the other colonies are getting funding whilst L2 is missing out - majorly.”

 

“Why would anyone want to steal funds from such a project?”

 

“That, I'm afraid, is the million dollar question. And before you ask, I can't divulge any further details on our investigation; it's classified.”

 

“So, where exactly do these guys fit in? And why do they want us?”

 

“They're not at all happy with things and want the ESUN to take notice.” Duo swallowed hard. “I have to leave in under two hours. They want me to assassinate the L1 ambassador.”

 

Nurse Brown's good hand flew to her mouth in shock. “Duo, you can't do that; that's... that's murder.”

 

“I have to, I'm afraid I don't have a choice. Trust me when I say I've tried to talk them out of this, refused to comply...”

 

“They're holding me and Keitaro as surety, aren't they?” Nurse Brown whispered as the enormity of the situation suddenly hit her.

 

Duo nodded. “If I kill the L1 ambassador they will start to make their point and both Keitaro and yourself will remain safe. If I don't...” Duo didn't want to even think about that.

 

Nurse Brown looked at her broken wrist. “So this was a sort of 'proof of intent',” she said, nodding at her wrist. “Oh, Duo. I'm so sorry.”

 

“Not your fault.”

 

“If I had been more aware...”

 

“It wouldn't have made any difference. This is not your fault, hell, it's not mine either, but we're stuck here and currently I'm fresh out of ideas as to how to get us all out of this mess.” Duo cradled his head in his hands, resisting the urge to pull his hair out in frustration. He hated this, hated being so helpless. The warmth of a hand resting on his forearm drew him from his self loathing and he looked up into the nurse's eyes.

 

“We will find a way out of this.”

 

“I hope so,” Duo replied.

 

“I'm sure Heero and your friends will soon be looking for all of us. Knowing what I do about that husband of yours and his protective streak for Keitaro, I'd say he's busy tearing apart the city looking for him right now.”

 

Duo couldn't help the small chuckle. Heero did have a very possessive streak when it came to their son. He soon sobered up though and turned to face the nurse again. “I don't know if Heero will be able to find us. He's probably half out of his mind with worry right now. You see, I couldn't tell anyone where I was going, no contact with anyone or anything was part of the deal. I just hope Heero doesn't wait too long to try and find us. He will know something's wrong seeing as I didn't leave a note. Hopefully he will find my knives are missing too; that should be enough to let him know it's serious. When both you and Keitaro fail to turn up too, well, I'd say he's going to shift heaven and hell to find us.”

 

“I wish there was some way we could get a message to him,” Nurse Brown sighed. “Although, I don't know how much help that would be to him as I don't have a clue where we are.”

 

Duo's mind began to tick over, his brow furrowed as he thought. “You know, we might just be able to do something.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yeah. From what I observed of our travels to this place, we're somewhere north of the city.”

 

“Guess that's a start.”

 

“Look, when I have to go I want you to try and pick away at the crumbling mortar around the window.”

 

“But, I don't have anything I can use other than my fingernails, and they're not exactly long.” Given her job and the handling of the infant, Nurse Brown always kept her nails short, mostly for hygienic reasons but also so she wouldn't accidentally scratch the child.

 

“That's okay.” Duo fiddled in his hair for a moment and then produced a bit of metal. He grinned at the nurse. “Here, it's one of my lock picks. It's not very big, but it is strong and should help to a point in loosening the mortar. If we can get enough of it broken away, we should be able to break part of the frame and then we can use the wood from that to chip away at the rest.”

 

“You carry lock picks?” The nurse frowned a little.

 

“Yeah. Old habits and all that.”

 

Margaret raised an eyebrow. She could question that later, for now though she had another question. “If you have lock picks hidden away, why haven't you tried to pick the lock here and get us out? Surely that would be easier than breaking through a window?”

 

“True,” Duo replied. “But then once we get the door open, we still have to contend with at least three idiots up there that don't want us to leave. Plus they have weapons and I'm not about to endanger my son or you.”

 

“I see your point.” Nurse Brown had to admit she was rather fond of living.

 

“You try and get some sleep, I'll take first shot at the window mortar. They will be back for me in about an hour and a half; whilst I'm gone you can carry on. Be careful though.”

 

The nurse lay herself down on the bed next to Keitaro and did her best to get some sleep. It wasn't easy with all the thoughts swirling in her head.

 

* * *

 

“Sally is on her way here,” Wufei informed Heero as he closed his cell and pocketed it.

 

Heero looked at his long time friend through tired, distraught eyes. “Chang? What if we don't find them? I can't...”

 

“Yuy!” Chang barked. “Stop that right now. We will find them, all of them,” he continued with more conviction than he felt. “Right now we need to start to gather together our clues. You're a Preventer agent with a case to solve, so start acting like one!” Wufei knew he was probably being a little harsh here, but Yuy needed to be doing something. The longer his mind was unoccupied, the more his thoughts would dwell on the many different scenarios - none of them pleasant.

 

“Let's get some paper, pens and start making a list of what we know so far.” Wufei tugged on Heero's arm, forcing the other man into action.

 

Heero knew Chang was right, he needed to keep focused on the mission and not on what may have happened to his missing family. He led the way to the study and grabbed a couple of notebooks and pens. The pair sat down and began to think, noting down all they had thus far on the case. Twenty minutes later, Sally was knocking on the door.

 

Heero opened the door for the doctor and allowed her entry.

 

“Heero? What is going on? Wufei said Duo, Margaret and Keitaro are missing?”

 

“Come through to the study, Sally, and we will fill you in.” Heero led the way down the hall to the study.

 

Wufei smiled softly at the doctor as she entered. “Doctor Po,” he greeted.

 

“For heaven's sake, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Sally?” the woman growled.

 

Wufei looked suitably chastised. “Sally,” he corrected, “Thank you for coming to help.”

 

“It's my pleasure. Now, will you care to brief me fully so I know what assistance I can give?”

 

Heero took up the tale, explaining how Duo had left early to follow up on a lead and when he'd gotten home there was no sign of his husband, nanny or son. He told Sally of the missing knives, security system turned off and no note from Duo as to his whereabouts. Having concluded with his attempts to contact both Duo and the nanny and Barney's input about shopping, Heero finished and looked at the doctor. “This is so not Duo,” he whispered, voice cracking a little.

 

Sally thought deep and hard before asking a few questions. Having gotten her answers, she fixed Heero with her gaze and spoke softly. “You would know far better than I about Duo's habits, however, I think I know a little more about Margaret. I can tell you now, this is not like her at all. She's always one for sticking to a routine when it comes to children and I know she simply adores Keitaro and there's no way she would interrupt his routine unless absolutely necessary.”

 

Heero had to agree with Sally there. He'd not spent the past seven months with the nurse looking after the child without knowing she was completely devoted to her job.

 

“That means there must be something seriously wrong for her to be this late,” Wufei interjected.

 

“Exactly,” Sally replied. “Frankly, I'm worried.” She saw the look of fear on Heero's face and quickly clarified her words. “I don't mean worried as in any harm befallen them, Heero. Margaret would never put your son in any danger; she would protect him with her life. What I mean is I'm worried because it's obvious that Margaret can't for some reason get back home or contact us. If her car is the problem, she would have called for assistance and let someone here know. If her cell is flat, I'm sure she would have found a phone box or some other way to contact home. Has anyone spoken to Harim?”

 

“We were just in the process of listing down what we know and what we need to find out or confirm,” Wufei huffed.

 

“Then I suggest we get on to it,” Sally said took a seat.

 

“Trowa and Quatre are on their way,” Heero stated.

 

“They are?”

 

“Hai. They called a little while ago. Quatre's always been empathic as you know and he had a strong feeling that all wasn't right.”

 

“How much can he tell with his empathy?”

 

“I'm not completely sure. All he said was he could feel something was wrong. We can ask him more when they arrive tomorrow. They should be earth side around seven in the morning. I don't know how long it will take them to get here, but they're coming direct to the mansion.”

 

“Fine.”

 

“If everyone is finished, might I suggest we get back to looking for clues?” Wufei said.

 

The three began to jot down notes.

 

* * *

 

Duo diligently hacked away at the crumbling mortar surrounding the window. He managed to make some headway, although it was tough going with only a small lock pick. What he wouldn't have given for some C4 right then. He was careful to collect all the bits of cement and hide them amongst some rags in the corner of the basement. The last thing he needed was for their attempted escape route to be discovered. Luckily the window was on the side of the basement wall that didn't get a lot of light. Whilst it made it tougher to see for 'digging', it also meant their captors wouldn't be able to see properly either.

 

Glancing at his watch, Duo noted his time was almost up. They would be coming for him in another fifteen minutes. Quickly he cleaned up the area, secured the lock pick back in his braid and washed his hands in the small bowl of water they'd been left.

 

Whilst he'd been working, his mind had been continuously swirling with thoughts on how to let Heero know where they were. It would have to be subtle, something only Heero would pick up on. His main problem would be hoping Heero would be a part of the investigation team into the death of the ambassador he was going to assassinate. He felt confident that Preventer would be assigned the case, it was the type of things the organization was set up for after all.

 

Having given himself a headache with all the thinking, Duo slumped into the chair and rubbed his temples. Then he had an idea.

 

The door to the basement opened and Duric came down the steps with his gun ready. “It's time to go,” he told Duo.

 

The sound of Duric entering awoke Nurse Brown and she quickly sat up, looking to where Duo was rising from his seat. “Duo?”

 

Duo quickly went to the bed and placed a reassuring hand on the nurse's arm. “I'll be okay. You make sure to stay safe and look after my son for me.”

 

Nurse Brown swallowed and nodded. “Take care of yourself.”

 

“I will.” Duo leaned over and pressed a kiss to the nurse's cheek then one to his son's head. “I love you, Keitaro.”

 

“Come on, we don't have all night,” Duric snapped.

 

With a sigh, Duo straightened and turned. He gave one last smile to the nurse, kissed Keitaro on the head again and left.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...