Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 71 ( Chapter 71 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Barton begins to finalise his plans with the rest of his group. Trowa, Wufei and Quatre are on their way to the satellite and it's a race against time for Heero to convert all the file systems in Preventer.

Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai / Romance / Suspense / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.25.2010 | Pages: 8 | Words: 7.6K | Visits: 244 | Status: Work In Progress

“Family Ties”

January 2007 ShenLong

Chapter 71

Barton rubbed his hands together and smiled at those sitting at the table with him. “Gentlemen, I have some good news.”

Wainright, Richards, Sampson and Zaheer all turned to look at the older man.

“Everything is going to plan with the Firecell and we should be able to release it in the next couple of days. I would have preferred to have stuck to our original time frame, but outside interference dictated it was not to be.”

The four at the table all recalled the sudden speeding up of their plans due to another rebel group. At least that group was now out of the picture.

Barton looked to Zaheer. “Have all the suits been completed?”

“Most are finished. There's a couple that still require the plating to be bolted on and about five require their hydraulics or other systems checking. Other than that they should be ready for the pilots to use within a few days,” replied Zaheer.

“What about the programming?”

“Almost complete.”

“And the pilots?”

“Their training is progressing. I expect them to be perfectly capable pilots by the end of the week.”

“Good.” Barton turned to Sampson. “How is the army coming along?”

“As well as can be expected. It would be better if we could have stuck to the original time frame, but they will be ready enough when the time comes.”

“They had better be,” Barton growled. “I shouldn't need to remind you just how much is depending on everything being operative and fully functional.”

Sampson nodded. “Don't worry everything will go off perfectly fine.”

Zaheer decided to try and change the subject. “What are we going to do about the three extras?”

“I've not made up my mind yet. The computer one has been only too willing to assist and join the cause so I might keep him. He's proving to be okay with the programming amongst other things.”

“But the other two?” asked Zaheer with a raised eyebrow. He'd dearly love to have a few moments alone with either one of them, especially the long haired one. He had more than a little anger to work out of his system.

“I'll decide on them later. The one that is assisting to train the troops might be persuaded to continue to work for us easily enough. The other one...” Barton frowned. “I could certainly use his skills with the pilots and mobile suits. I just might have to see if we can't persuade him to see things from our perspective. It would be a shame to lose a talent such as he has.”

“And if they refuse?”

“Then you will get your chance, Zaheer.”

Zaheer smiled to himself. He had no doubt now that he would get his wish. He simply couldn't see that long haired man joining Barton and his forces, despite anything that Barton might offer him. He began to plan out in his mind exactly what he would do to that long haired shit.

And none of it was pleasant.

With Zaheer contemplating the demise of Duo and Duric, Barton turned to the two senators. “You both know what you are doing?”

“Yes,” replied Wainright on behalf of them both.

“Fine. I'll let you know once the Firecell is deployed. From there it will depend on what the ESUN decides to do, either way they will be fucked so it's just a matter of time before we move in and take over.”

Wainright rubbed his hands together and smirked. He was looking forward to taking over the ESUN and running it how it should be run.

“Anyone have any questions?” asked Barton, looking over his group.

No one did and the meeting came to an end with everyone leaving and going their respective ways.

* * *

“Preventer Control, this is shuttle PA 221. Launch successful. All systems on line.”

“Shuttle PA 221 this is Preventer Control. Will continue to track whilst you are in range. All systems here are a go for your mission. Good luck, agents.”

“This is shuttle 221, thanks control. Switching to automatic pilot now. Will see you when we return. Shuttle 221, out.”

“Preventer Control, out.”

Wufei removed the small head set, pushed a few buttons on the console and then leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and took a moment to center himself.

Trowa similarly removed his head set and checked the console, a nod of satisfaction his way of letting anyone who was watching know he was pleased with the results he saw.

Checking over the flight plan and comparing it to the computer plan, Quatre was happy with the navigation system. He also removed his head set and turned to look at his husband and friend. “Guess all we can do now is wait.”

“It will take us roughly twenty-eight hours to reach the satellite,” Wufei informed. “We will need to keep a constant check on the computer system just in case the Firecell is deployed whilst we are en route.”

“I hope that Heero's theory is correct and the file conversion works if Barton does let that thing loose.” Quatre shuddered at the thought of being stranded in space with no communication, no power; in fact, not much of anything. It would be a cold and lonely death.

“Do you honestly think that Yuy would have let us leave and go on this mission without back up of some sort?” Wufei questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Actually, I was kind of hoping you would say something like that,” Quatre replied. “If I know Heero, he has something up his sleeve.”

“That he does.” Wufei explained to the pair what Heero had discussed with him prior to their departure.

“Well, I must say that does make me feel a whole lot better, although I'm sure that Heero's on the right track with this converting of the file systems.”

“Only time will tell on that,” Wufei stated.

“Yes, and that's one thing we don't have a lot of right now,” Trowa stated. “Wufei, we need to discuss how and where we will approach the satellite.”

Wufei nodded. “We also need to go over the blueprints again and work out our strategy.”

“Ah, strategy.” The blonde rubbed his hands together. “Shall we adjourn to the mess and talk about this further over some lunch?”

“I think that might be a good idea.”

* * *

“Are you okay?”

Duo retched again, eyes closed as his body spasmed, stomach muscles working overtime to expel anything and everything contained within. Duo could have sworn his stomach was also trying to leave his body. When the heaving slowed and stopped, he grabbed the toilet roll and tore several sheets off. Wiping his mouth, he pushed the flush button and moved on wobbly legs to the sink to rinse his mouth out. He'd loved to have cleaned his teeth, but they hadn't been given the luxury of a toothbrush or paste.

He glanced in the mirror and winced at his reflection.

“I think I should call for a medic.”

“No!” Duo spat out and looked at Duric through the reflection in the mirror. “I'm fine.”

“Doesn't sound or look like it,” Duric snapped.

“It's that breakfast crap. It doesn't agree with my stomach,” Duo replied. It wasn't really a lie, just a slight stretching of the truth.

“I can sympathize with you there,” Duric said. “I don't think it can even be classified as food.”

Duo splashed some cold water over his face and felt a little better. Trusting that his insides were going to remain that way - inside - he dried his face and hands on the towel and turned to leave the bathroom. Duric moved aside, allowing Duo to pass and lie on his bunk.

“You sure you're okay? I'm betting they would have a medic of some sort on this floating tin can.”

“I said, I'm fine,” Duo growled. “There is no need to call a medic or anyone else for that matter. You say one word to anyone and the food is the last thing you will need to worry about killing you. Understand?”

Duric swallowed hard, hearing the promise in the cold tone. “I understand.”

“Good.”

Five minutes later the door opened to reveal their escorts. Duric left with his, Duo leaving seconds behind him with Tewson as his babysitter.

With a deep sigh, Duo sat down at his console and brought the mobile suit program up on the screen. The senior tech came across and entered the pass codes, allowing Duo access to the system so he could work. Duo didn't bother to let the tech know he'd figured out the pass codes already.

With the program on screen, Duo did his best to ignore his now hungry stomach and set to work.

* * *

Rubbing at his tired eyes, Heero scowled at the computer. “This is going to take ages,” he muttered.

He'd been working on the file conversion for six hours straight, not including the four hours he'd spent converting the basic shuttle fleet files. He was tired, cranky, hungry and wanted his husband back; not necessarily in that order either. He lifted up the mug of coffee and drank the last of the liquid down.

The doors to the data room opened and Heero didn't bother to look up.

“Ah, Une said I'd find you here.”

Weary cobalt turned to look up as the woman spoke and approached. “Sally,” Heero acknowledged.

Sally pulled over a chair and sat down, dropping a paper packet to the desk top. Eying the packet, Heero frowned and then looked to Sally for an explanation.

“I spoke with Chang this morning. He said you were having trouble sleeping.”

Heero's face darkened.

“Don't look at me like that, it doesn't work,” Sally scolded. “Wufei was right in coming to me. He's concerned for you, Heero. Look, what I'm doing isn't completely against Preventer policy, but I'm still sticking my neck out for you here. By rights I should be informing Une of what I'm prescribing and also dragging you into my office for a full medical assessment as your commanding officer is concerned for your health. However, I'm well aware of the circumstances surrounding your current state and if you promise me you will take the pills to get some decent sleep and try to eat more, I promise not to inform Une of the prescription.”

Heero weighed up the doctor's words. He really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. “Okay, I'll take the damn pills.”

“Good. Heero, this is for your own good you know. Once Duo is located you are going to need to be at full capacity; if you keep going the way you are, when the time comes you won't be an asset but a liability.”

“I know, it's just that it's...” Heero broke off, the words choking him.

“I know it's hard, Heero. I'm worried too, we all are. You already know there is every possibility that he could be pregnant again and I don't need to tell you what a risk that is. Aside from the very real danger to his health, there is also the risk of his unusual make up being discovered, and we both know how devastating that would be.”

“I just want him back, Sally. Safe and sound in my arms,” Heero whispered.

“So do I, Heero. So do I.”

The pair sat in silence for a while, Heero checking on the status of the conversion and Sally simply letting herself try to relax and not think about all the things that could go wrong with Duo's pregnancy this time. There was one question niggling at the back of her mind though and she knew she would have to ask it sooner or later. She decided that now was probably as good a time as any. “Heero?”

“Hai?”

“This is a very personal question, but I do need to try and get an answer for it.”

Heero raised an eyebrow. “I will try to answer if I can.”

“It's regarding Duo's possible pregnancy. I'm sure that you both fully understood the risks involved with Duo falling pregnant again so soon after having had Keitaro?”

“Hai, we did.”

“Then aside from the obvious, how the hell would he have managed to get pregnant again?”

Heero closed his eyes momentarily and thought long and hard. Opening his eyes, he fixed his gaze on the doctor. “I have no answer for that, Sally. We did do everything you told us to. When we knew it was possible that Duo could be... Ummm... fertile, we either switched roles or used protection.”

Knowing the man was uncomfortable with the conversation, Sally did her best to make it as easy as she could for him. “I'm sorry to be asking, Heero, but I need to know so I can figure out just how far along Duo would be if he is pregnant.” She didn't dare mention all the other concerns she had to go with that.

Sighing, Heero did his best to squash his embarrassment. “I do understand why you are doing this and I appreciate your concerns. It's like I said, we either switched roles or used protection.”

“What sort of protection did you use?” Heero's cheeks had started to pink up and Sally felt a twinge of pain in her heart for putting him through this.

“Aa. We used condoms,” Heero replied, his cheeks feeling awfully warm.

“I see.” Sally frowned. It would appear that the guys had listened to her and done the right thing, following her advice; but it still didn't change the fact there was a very real possibility that Agent Night was out there, being held hostage and unaware of his condition.

“I still have a couple of the condoms in the box at home if you wish for me to bring them in for you to check,” Heero said, his voice sarcastic and breaking into Sally's thoughts.

Still preoccupied with her thoughts, Sally missed the sarcasm. “Okay, you can do that although I really don't think it's going to make all that much difference,” she said. “Heero, how long until Wufei and the others reach the satellite they're investigating?” Whilst she wasn't an agent as such, Sally was still the head of the medical wing and as her position dictated, she was kept informed of all missions taking place so should she be needed she could respond quickly with the appropriate medical assistance.

It also helped that one of the agents - Wufei to be precise - just happened to be her boyfriend. Not that the agent would give her much in the way of details as a rule. This time though, Wufei had kept Sally up to speed on the investigation, feeling the woman deserved to know as she was not just Duo's doctor, but a close friend as well. Sally knew of Duo's missing status as she'd assisted in the early stages of this investigation to try and track him down. Unfortunately with no luck

“They should be closing in on it around evening tomorrow,” Heero replied. “The shuttle they are using is a new one and capable of moving pretty fast.”

“I see. How much longer do you intend to stay here?”

Heero glanced at the clock. “I guess I should be going home.” Although it was a good couple of hours past his usual finish time, Heero wasn't looking forward to going home. Yes he did want to see his son and spend some time with the child, but it was afterward, once Keitaro was asleep that the true impact of Duo's absence really hit home. There was no idle chatter, no sunny smile or loud laughter and only a cold, empty bed to crawl into.

“Go home, Heero. Eat something, take a shower and see your son. Take the pills with you and take two tonight when you retire. I've checked them against your resistance and they should work okay. They won't completely knock you out, but they will make you drowsy enough that you should fall asleep by yourself.”

“Okay. I'll need to finish setting this up though to continue with the conversions during the night.”

“I'll go get my stuff and wait for you. You can walk me to the car park.”

Heero was too tired to argue.

* * *

“Your daddy's home,” Nurse Brown told the infant as she picked up the last of the toys and put them into the toy box.

Closing the door behind him, Heero tossed his keys to the small table in the hallway and picking up his briefcase, walked towards the lounge room where he could hear his son gurgling away. A soft smile graced his lips as he spotted the child attempting to crawl across the floor, the nurse watching intently.

“Any news?” asked Nurse Brown, turning for a moment to make eye contact before once again concentrating on the child.

“Nothing new,” Heero replied and then stepped into the room properly. Keitaro heard his father's voice and immediately changed his crawling direction. Heero bent to pick the infant up and cradle him close to his chest. Taking a seat and sitting the child on his knees, Heero spoke quietly. “Wufei, Trowa and Quatre are on their way to the suspect satellite to check it out.”

“I see. I sincerely hope they find some trace of that husband of yours. He needs to be found as soon as possible,” the nurse said with a frown.

“You don't have to tell me that,” replied Heero.

“I'm sure they will be able to locate him soon. There has to be a clue somewhere.”

“There's probably a ton of clues, we just haven't found them yet,” Heero sighed.

“You will,” said Nurse Brown with more conviction than she felt. “Now, how about some dinner?”

* * *

“Everything okay?” Trowa asked as he entered the cockpit of the shuttle and sat in the copilot's chair.

“So far, so good,” Wufei replied and placed the clipboard back in its holder.

The pair stared out through the window at the inky blackness surrounding them, lost to the deadly beauty of space.

“You okay with the plans?”

“Yes. It all seems logical to me,” replied Wufei.

Silence reigned again, each thinking about their discussion and decisions from earlier. They had a pretty clear plan of what they were going to do, well, at least for the most part anyway.

As they drew nearer to the satellite they would engage the cloaking device and adopt complete radio silence. It was agreed to scope out the satellite from the air first, look for any outward signs of activity and also select an appropriate place to land. Once they were down they would suit up, playing it safe until they knew what the life support systems were like, and set out to scour the satellite for any signs at all of anyone's presence.

They would carry a palm top with them in which the satellite's blueprints had been downloaded. That way they could search the multiple levels as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“What do you think we will find there?” Wufei asked.

“I'm pretty sure we will find some evidence that people have been there recently. Whether it was to deliver goods, process materials or something else. If they are still there, it will be a bonus.”

“And Maxwell?”

“All I can do is hope my hunch is correct in regards to the materials; and given the other evidence we have, If the materials were there or are still there, then I think we will find more leads to where Duo is.”

Wufei returned his gaze to the black void, speaking quietly as he did so. “I sincerely hope you are right, my friend.”

* * *

“Well done,” said the head tech as he checked Duo's work on the mobile suit programming.

Duo opted to say nothing.

“Excellent work. The programming is almost finished. I'd say one more day and the program will be completed which should work out perfectly for the pilots.”

“He finished then?” asked Young with an incline of his head in Duo's direction.

“Yes, yes. He's finished for today. Take him back if you wish. I'll need to find Barton and let him know we should be ready for the pilots to take the suits for their test runs and see how the suit programming holds up somewhere late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Move it,” Young snapped and shoved Duo in the back.

Whirling around on instinct, Duo's arm and fist was moving before he registered it. The blow caught Young in the solar plexus, knocking the wind completely out of him. Immediately Duo was surrounded by guards, guns aimed at his head. Lowering his head, Duo backed off a touch, the snarl still on his face.

“You'll pay for that,” Young growled and aimed a blow for Duo's midsection.

Somehow, Duo managed to twist slightly and the blow caught him on his side, just above his hip. It was followed by another to the face and Duo tasted the metallic flavor of blood.

“Now, fucking move!” Young hissed and aimed a gun at Duo's head.

With nothing left to do but obey, Duo shuffled away from the console and back to his prison.

~ * ~

tbc...