Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 55 ( Chapter 55 )

“Family Ties”

 

January 2007 ShenLong.

 

Chapter 55

 

As the nurse crumpled, Wufei shot forward and with Quatre's assistance, managed to catch the nanny before she could hit the ground. They eased her into the wheelchair, Sally diving into her bag and locating the smelling salts.

 

Moments later, Margaret was again on the conscious plane.

 

“Damn,” said the nanny as she came out of her faint and back to reality. “Why did you do that? I was quite happy in my unconscious state.”

 

Sally rolled her eyes. “Look, you can pass out all you want later, right now I need you awake so I can examine you.” Turning to Wufei, she directed her next words to him. “Can you please push the wheelchair to the medical section?”

 

“Of course,” came Wufei's reply.

 

“Right, people, let's move out.” Sally fell into step beside Heero and the infant. “I'm sorry that Duo is still missing, but relieved you have Keitaro back safely.”

 

“Thank you,” Heero whispered.

 

Pausing to wait for the elevator doors to open, Sally put her hand on Heero's arm. “We will find him, Heero.”

 

Pain filled blue eyes turned to stare at her and the doctor could read the anguish there as well.

 

“I did say before we would find them and bring them home safe. We have two back and it's only a matter of time before we get Duo back too.”

 

Heero nodded, there wasn't much else he could do and Sally was right; they had the nanny and his son back safely. The next step would be to get Duo back too.

 

The elevator arrived and everyone stepped inside.

 

* * *

 

The sound of approaching footsteps drew Duo's eyes from the cracks in the ceiling he was counting to the doorway. The man he recognized as Tewson stepped in, followed by Matthews and Young.

 

Matthews approached and removed the duct tape from each of their mouths and wrists, then nodded to the other two. Young and Tewson moved forward, each carrying a plate of food that they handed over to their 'prisoners'.

 

Duo took his and glanced at the meal, it wasn't much at all, just a piece of battered fish and a pile of fries. His stomach rumbled to let him know just how long it had been since he'd last eaten and he figured he might as well make the most of it. There weren't any utensils, their captors not willing to risk one of them possibly trying to make a break for it using a fork or knife as a weapon - not that they would get very far. In a standoff between a fork and a gun, Duo would put his money on the gun, there was something about a bread and butter knife that simply didn't fit the whole `escape' routine. Picking up the piece of fish, Duo took a bite.

 

Duric similarly began to eat his own food, Farrow following suit.

 

“Someone will have to feed him,” Young snapped as he placed Murphy's plate on the floor beside the chair the partially conscious man was sprawled in.

 

Duric looked up and glanced at Duo. Duo shot the man a look that clearly said, 'fuck off!' With a grunt, Duric turned to Farrow. “When you finish yours, feed Murphy.”

 

Farrow frowned and was about to say something but the look in Duric's eye convinced him not to open his mouth and say what he was thinking. Farrow swallowed. “Okay,” he muttered.

 

Tewson and Matthews departed leaving Young to watch over them. Duo wondered if he could distract the man long enough that he could risk a few words with Duric. Deciding he had nothing to lose, Duo put down his piece of fish and swallowed.

 

“Any chance of getting a glass of water? It's been a while since any of us had something to drink and this meal isn't helping the thirst any as it's a little salty.”

 

Young sneered at Duo but considered the request. “I'll see what I can do.” Young turned and stepped just outside the doorway to shout out to Tewson.

 

Duo took immediate advantage of the moment and lowered his voice to speak to Duric. “I'm hoping the nanny has managed to get out of that place and alert the authorities. If that's the case, we need to play along with these guys until Preventer can locate us, that way we just might get out of this alive.”

 

“You any idea what they're up to? I know they're the ones that killed Cropp,” Duric hissed.

 

“I have a theory, but that's all at this stage.” Duo wasn't about to elaborate, he had his ideas and he also knew it wouldn't be long before Nurse Brown got word to Heero and then Preventer would really be on their case. Meanwhile, he would apply his own training, gather as much evidence as he could and maybe, just maybe, take these bastards down. There was the small problem of staying alive through it all too.

 

Further conversation was halted as Young stepped back inside the room, Tewson coming in a few minutes later with four glasses and a jug of water.

 

“Thank you,” Duo said. It was wise to remain on the better side of these people - for now at least.

 

Farrow finished his meal and moved to help Murphy, Young keeping the gun trained on them. Once they were all finished, Tewson returned and removed the dirty dishes. Young produced another roll of duct tape and the three found themselves once more bound and gagged.

 

* * *

 

“X-rays and probably surgery, Margaret, I don't like the look of that wrist at all,” said Sally as she examined the nurse.

 

Margaret snorted. “You want to try living with it.”

 

“At least you haven't lost your sense of humor.” Sally replied and then changed her tone to a slightly softer one. “You sure you feel up to the debriefing?”

 

“I'd be lying if I said I was fine,” Margaret replied. “Look, I'll be honest, this wrist does hurt and I know there's more going on with it than meets the eye. It would be better to get it fixed as soon as possible, but right now, that isn't an option. I have to let them all know everything I can. That young man is still out there somewhere and he needs to be brought back home where he belongs; with his husband and son... his family.”

 

Sally lowered her eyes. She knew exactly where Margaret was coming from. “I agree with you, but...”

 

Margaret looked up sharply.

 

“But... I will give you a strong painkiller to help ease that wrist for the moment; once you've spoken with Une and the others you are to surrender to me.”

 

“Surrender?” the nurse's voice held a touch of amusement and she raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yes, surrender. I need to have the wrist x-rayed and probably an ultrasound done too. Then I'll get an operating theater ready. I have no doubt that those bones have started to heal and in the wrong positions too. We will most likely need to re-break them to set them properly.”

 

Margaret sighed. “I swear you can do what you like once I've spoken with the powers that be.”

 

“Good. Now, give me your arm so I can put in a saline drip and then give you that painkiller.”

 

* * *

 

Une, Chang, Barton and Winner all sat in the small, doctor's lounge in the Preventer medical wing. Heero stood to one side, Keitaro cradled in his arms, the infant having gone back to sleep for a while. The door opened and they all looked up in expectation.

 

Sally wheeled Margaret in, the nanny having been given strict instructions she was to remain in the wheelchair, much to Margaret's annoyance.

 

'Parking' the wheelchair and setting the brake, Sally took a seat beside Une. “Okay, you can start with your debriefing now, please try to keep it short and to the point as Nurse Brown has an appointment with an operating theater very shortly.”

 

“Thanks, we will try to keep it as short as possible,” replied Une and she reached for the small recorder and turned the unit on. With the device now operating, Une turned to the nanny and began. “Nurse Brown, if you could kindly tell us exactly what happened to you and the child, from the moment you left the Yuy-Maxwell residence to the time Agent Day found you in the basement please.”

 

Taking a deep breath, Margaret cast her mind back and began to speak. “I took Keitaro with me to the mall to do a little shopping, then we went into the park for a bit of a stroll and to feed the ducks like we often did...”

 

As the nurse related all that had happened, Heero listened intently, his anger growing steadily until he was ready to flay alive the persons responsible.

 

Wufei was similarly seething. “What a bunch of dishonorable curs!” he exclaimed when Nurse Brown reiterated how they had broken her wrist.

 

As the nurse continued, telling them what she knew of the assassinations Duo had been forced to commit, Quatre closed his eyes as he thought back to how he'd felt Duo's dark side and now knew why that presence had been so strong. “Oh Allah, poor Duo. No wonder I could feel Shinigami so strongly,” he whispered to Trowa.

 

“And then all we heard were the sounds of a scuffle and gunshots. Duo made me hide in the corner between the drums, cans and other rubbish and told us to stay there. I heard someone come into the basement, it wasn't a voice I'd heard before. I didn't dare look out, keeping the child safe was my main priority. I listened as they spoke to Duo and then they left. I didn't hear anything else after that for quite some time, and then I heard Heero's voice.”

 

Une switched the recorder off, everyone just sat in their chairs trying to digest all the information, all except Heero who continued to stand with Keitaro in his arms.

 

“Thank you, Margaret, for the information. Now, if we could ask a few questions before Sally takes you off to surgery?”

 

“Of course, commander. I'll do my best to answer for you.”

 

Une turned the recorder back on and began with simple questions like the names of the perpetrators, descriptions, any identifying scars, tattoos or the like.

 

Margaret did her best to describe each of the kidnappers that she'd come into contact with as accurately as she could. She'd only met Duric and Murphy and therefore could only describe them. She'd heard of Nolen being the leader through Duo's talking of him, and she knew there was another man, but what his name was or what he looked like, she didn't know.

 

Une continued in her questioning, Chang and Yuy asking a question of their own here and there until they were pretty sure they had all they would be likely to get.

 

“Do you have any idea at all who these other people might be or where they could have taken Duo and the others?” Une asked.

 

“No. No I don't. I wish I did, I wish I could have done more to help Duo, but...”

 

“You did everything you possibly could do.”

 

Margaret looked up at the sound of the voice. A pair of blue eyes filled with a mixture of appreciation, pain and anguish stared back at her.

 

“You kept my son safe,” Heero whispered. “And for that I am eternally grateful.”

 

Margaret lowered her eyes, unable to keep the contact. “I'm sorry,” she said, her voice hitching slightly.

 

“If that's all, I'd like to get Margaret x-rayed and ready for surgery,” Sally said, breaking the awkward moment.

 

“There's one more thing,” Margaret said, her voice soft.

 

“There is?” Une looked at the nurse.

 

Raising her eyes, Margaret found Heero's eyes again and stared directly into them as she spoke, keeping her voice as steady as she could. “I'm pretty certain that your husband is pregnant again.”

 

* * *

 

The sun was beginning to set when Young returned to the room where Duo and the others were being held. Ignoring the three sitting and watching him, Young moved to where Murphy lay sprawled in the chair. He checked the man over and disappeared.

 

Duric glanced from Murphy to Duo and raised an eyebrow. Duo shook his head in response. He didn't know what was going on either.

 

Young returned within minutes, Tewson at his side. The three able bodied men were hauled to their feet, the tape on their ankles cut.

 

“Move out,” Tewson growled and waved a gun at them.

 

Peterson appeared in the doorway, also armed. “Follow me,” he ordered.

 

With a glance at Murphy, Duric started to follow Peterson, Farrow right behind him. Duo hobbled after the pair, his eyes also flicking to Murphy. Murphy didn't look too good. By rights he should be in a hospital, he'd lost a lot of blood that Duo could tell and from his observations, Murphy was not only in shock, but it appeared infection was starting to set in if the sweating forehead and glazed eyes were anything to go by.

 

Unable to communicate with their mouths duct taped, the three men followed their captor outside and back into the waiting van. Once they were inside, their ankles were re-taped and then they were left alone for a moment, Tewson keeping guard from outside the van.

 

Duric continued to cast glances at Duo and the braided man had a pretty good idea what was going on inside Duric's head. The same thoughts were going through his own. The main thought being; where were they going now?

 

Matthews and Peterson soon joined Tewson outside the van and chatted amongst themselves in low tones. Although Duo did his best to strain his ears, he couldn't pick up on the conversation and it was too dark to read anyone's lips. Moments later he spotted the bulky guy called Zaheer step out and disappear around the side of the house. He returned moments later behind the wheel of another van.

 

Duo's head jerked back towards the house as he spotted Sampson and two other men coming out. Whilst the conversation was still low, Duo picked up a couple of words on the night air and he stiffened.

 

Wainright.

 

Duo could swear he'd heard Sampson address one of the other two men as Wainright. Quickly, his mind scrambled, dragging up information he had pushed to the back of his conscious.

 

Wainright.

 

He was one of the senators at the ESUN. More specifically, he was the one in charge of the Colony rebuilding scheme.

 

So what in the name of Hell was he doing here?

 

Duo didn't get much chance to ponder the thought. Sampson, Zaheer, Wainright and the other guy all got into the front van. Tewson and Peterson climbed into the back of the van with Duo and the others; Matthews climbed in front and started the van up.

 

Duric glanced around, looked at Duo and then looked pointedly at the house. It was clear to Duo he was mentally asking, 'What about Murphy?'

 

Duo shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have a clue where Murphy was.

 

Young appeared from the front door then, closing it and jogging towards the van. He holstered his gun as he climbed inside, Matthews slipping the van into gear and driving off behind the other van.

 

* * *

 

“P - pregnant?” Heero whispered as he visibly paled, the nanny's words hitting him like a freight train.

 

Margaret nodded.

 

The rest of the room were also in stunned shock. Sally was the first to recover.

 

“Are you sure, Margaret?' she asked, her efficient, doctor side coming to the fore.

 

“Pretty sure,” replied the nanny. “Without doing a proper blood or urine test I couldn't be a hundred percent positive, but after observing him over the past few days, I'm about ninety percent convinced.”

 

“But, how?” Heero asked, his mind still trying to grasp the words.

 

Seeing the opportunity to have a dig at his friend, Wufei was about to come out with a smart comment when he caught the look in Sally's eye. He quickly swallowed the words. Best not to annoy the doctor, especially when their own romance was still in its infant stages.

 

Unaware of Wufei's squashed intention to tease him, Heero fixed Sally with his eyes. “We did everything you recommended, switched roles and used protection,” he defended.

 

Sally shook her head. “This certainly does bring an entirely new set of problems,” she began. “Regardless of the 'how', Heero, if Duo is pregnant again, I don't think I need to remind you of the risks involved; and I don't mean just his condition being discovered. There's also his physical makeup and the fact that it's not been all that long since he carried Keitaro. His body isn't ready for another pregnancy so soon.”

 

Sally didn't need to remind Heero at all. The Japanese man was fully aware of the dangers of another pregnancy so close on the heels of Keitaro.

 

“Then I suggest we really need to step up this investigation, people,” Une stated in her calm voice. Before she could speak further, her pager went off. Grabbing the device, she glanced at it and frowned. “I'll be right back.” Une stood up and stepped outside the doctors lounge to place a call to the number on her pager.

 

“Commander Une here.”

 

* * *

 

The two vans continued on through the early evening and into the darker night. Duo and his companions dozed on and off, no one really getting much in the way of sleep. After what Duo deduced to have been at least three hours of traveling, the van began to slow and he blinked open his tired eyes, peering as best he could out the window at the darkened surroundings.

 

There wasn't much to be made out, but as Duo's eyes adjusted to the dark and the vans came to a stop, he was able to make out a little more. Once the vans had come to a complete stop, the door was opened and their four `babysitters' got out.

 

The door was left open and aided by the light of the moon, Duo could see enough to recognize an abandoned, military shuttle station when he saw one. The buildings were crumbling into decay and from what he could see of the launch mechanism, it wasn't all that much better.

 

Beside him, Duric was also staring, wide eyed at their surroundings. He nudged Duo with his shoulder, the long haired man turning to scowl at Duric. With his mouth still taped shut, Duric inclined his head towards the shuttle launch ramp and raised his eyebrows.

 

Clearly he was asking Duo if they were going to be launched into space off that ramp. Duo shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't sure, but it looked like that might be the plan. He then shook his head. He doubted very much that even these idiots would try something that risky. From what he could see of the ramp, it was under repair, however there was still quite a bit that needed doing to it before it would be able to launch a heavy shuttle. To do so now would most likely end up with the shuttle getting halfway along and the entire structure would collapse underneath it - not a very nice ending.

 

Another vehicle was approaching and Duo switched his attention to that. It pulled up outside his range of vision but he did hear another three voices join in with those currently outside. The conversation was difficult to hear, but from time to time the breeze would blow in the right direction and Duo would catch a few words. From those brief snatches, Duo could pretty much guess what the conversation was about.

 

“It wouldn't be ready...”

 

“...wasn't supposed to be for another six months...”

 

“...damn idiots throwing a spanner...”

 

“...Boss isn't happy...”

 

“...change of plan...”

 

Judging by the irritation in the voices as well as the fragments of the conversation he heard, Duo pretty much figured these guys hadn't planned on using this facility for another six months, in which case the launch ramp would have been repaired. With Nolen's appearance and actions, it seemed these guys had had their plans thrown into jeopardy and were now trying to salvage what they could.

 

The doorway was suddenly shadowed and a head poked itself in, Duo and Duric both fixing their eyes on the person standing there. Duo felt his heart rate quicken a touch as he recognized the man before them.

 

Detective White.

 

Duo was sure it was him, the detective that he and Heero had dealt with when picking up the files and taking over the case of Cropp's murder. If the detective was in with this gang then no wonder the police report on the murder had been so weak. Whether the man had similarly recognized Duo or not, he couldn't tell. He hoped not.

 

“Who the fuck are they?” White asked as he pulled his head out.

 

“I thought you said there were four?” came another voice and then another head poked inside, withdrawing a second later.

 

The sound of low voices could be heard followed by a few expletives, then the group seemed to agree on whatever it was they'd been discussing. A cell phone was pulled out, numbers punched and after a few more minutes, what seemed a couple more calls, the group began to pull apart and get back into the vans.

 

Detective White joined Duo, Duric, Farrow and their kidnappers in their van, the other man going to the front van with Zaheer and the others. The engine started and Matthews drove once more into the dark night.

 

Matthews drove for a short while before stopping the van again. White got out and disappeared, returning a few minutes later with two large duffel bags in hand, passing one to the front van and then climbing back into Matthews' van.

 

Once they were back on the road again, Peterson turned to the detective who had joined them and began to speak in a low tone. “Guess we should get this set up, it's only an hour to the shuttle port.”

 

The other man nodded and grabbed the bag he'd brought into the van with him. Rummaging around inside, he pulled out several sets of clothes and handed them over to Young, Peterson and Tewson. He passed a set to Young in readiness for Matthews before pulling out his own set of clothes. Silently, they all changed.

 

Duric's eyes widened as he watched the men changing. Their captors all now wore suits, complete with shoulder holsters, all except Matthews - Matthews would change into his once they stopped driving.

 

“Here,” said the detective and passed over what looked like ID badges. “They're not perfect, had to do a rushed finish on them but they're close enough. No one will notice the difference.”

 

Each man took an ID and clipped it to his lapel before being given another badge, this one sitting in a type of wallet along with what Duo could swear was a detective badge. Those were slipped into inner pockets.

 

“Now for the prisoners.”

 

Duo, Duric and Farrow all found themselves being handcuffed, a set of ankle manacles attached and then a chain added that locked the handcuffs to the ankle ones. Once they were secured, the duct tape was removed from wrists, ankles and thankfully, mouths.

 

Duo winced as the tape was pulled from his mouth, but if felt good to be able to breathe through his mouth again.

 

The volume of street lights outside had begun to increase and along with it, the noise factor. Glancing out the window, Duo could see they were pulling into a shuttle port. Their van followed the other one and pulled into a police only parking area. Once the vans both stopped, everyone began to get out and Matthews quickly changed his clothes.

 

Once they were all standing outside in the parking lot, the rest of the plan became clear.

 

“You three are our prisoners, dangerous felons that are being extradited to face the courts and answer for your crimes,” White informed them. “Under no circumstances are you to speak, you will keep your heads low and do exactly as you are told. Remember, there are three of you and ten of us; and we are armed.” To emphasize his point, White lifted the jacket and removed the gun from its holster.

 

Pointing the gun at Duo, White spoke again. “Move.”

 

The three `criminals' formed a line with the other men surrounding them and began to walk towards the side entry to the shuttle port.

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...