Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ In the City at Night ❯ The Devil's Playground ( Chapter 33 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The Devil's Playground

"Why did you tell Breer not to fuck with me?" Xane muttered to Jordan as the group trudged back toward their apartment.

"Because he's not going to fuck with you," Jordan returned easily, noting that his base living was incredibly more preferable to another winter spent in a badly insulated building. It was only fall, and the idea of what was coming somewhat horrified him.

"What if I wanted to?" Xane demanded.

"You have a boyfriend."

"Three, actually," Xane corrected. "Only one girl right now though."

"Fucking on a regular basis isn't considered a real relationship," Jor noted, meeting his eyes a moment and swaying very slightly. He wasn't sure what the last bottle count had been, and there'd been more after that. "You gonna tell me to stop looking out for you?"

"Don't just go assuming I can't help myself," Xane retorted, wrapping his arms around his chest.

"Put your hood up," Jordan ordered, glancing at him. "And do me a favor. When we're in my territory, take my word for it."

Xane pulled his hood up and glowered a bit, looking to the cement. "I think you're over stepping your bounds."

He'd always been told that honesty was the best policy. He may not have wanted to outright say what his issue was, but maybe it would work.

But then again...

Jordan turned and shoved him against a building, getting into his face. "What do you know about Jon?"

Xane blinked at him.

"How about the part where he tried to get me to sell him Heero? How about the part where I've actually seen him prostitute people he didn't know? You're cute, Xane. Your eyes contrast so vividly with your hair, and your eyelashes frame them just right, just dark enough...you're fucking cute. Your body is in fine condition, and you look healthy. If he could break you, he could earn...probably millions on you...and that's if he decides to trade in flesh."

The guy blinked, wondering briefly why Jordan didn't seem the slightest bit nervous about discussing attraction issues. Raul and the others had stopped not far off, and they all looked...almost resigned.

"He had kaseen on him, you realize that?" Jor added. "He knows it pisses me off to find some on him, and every now and again he feels the urge to assert authority over me. You're mine," he hissed, pulling Xane closer by the collar of his shirt and feeling himself start to overbalance toward the guy, "mine." He moved back and shook his head, spreading his legs a little further to be sure he wouldn't sway again. "He's a kingpin, the leader of a cartel...the godfather of a fucking mafia." He gestured to the surrounding buildings, spinning around in an unsteady circle as he looked at them, "I'd bet you a grand he's got at least one person watching us right now, right?" he shouted loudly so his voice echoed through the empty seeming streets.

There was a gravel-like crunch somewhere above.

"See," Jordan moved back to Xane. "You don't understand how all fucking powerful he is here...and this is his home base. That bar is his and he has it crawling with his fucking henchmen. I got him out of here and he treated me like an equal, but in Angels I'm just another one of his boys."

Xane wasn't sure what to say or do, but he was starting to feel a little foolish.

"He's been home for three weeks," Jordan added. "His comment about molesting you...shit, that could be face value, or he could be seeing how far you'll let him get away with shit...how far he can push me now that I'm suddenly equal in resources to him. I don't have to bend my knee to him, you know? I don't have to submit to his reign. I have my own power, and it's just growing. So who knows, really? Maybe he just wouldn't mind a go with you, a night with you...or maybe he's up to no good shit that could fuck us both over."

"Hey, Jordan?" Riley asked, moving forward to study his face. There was no graceful way out of the conversation unless the topic was just changed. "You realize how cold it is, don't you?"

Jordan turned to look at her, then noticed a man on a rooftop above her head. He narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering if it was one of Jon's or one of the street-rats

"You've made your point," the girl added quietly. "This is your grounds, and Breer is your friend. It's not like Mouthy didn't obey you...he just wants to be sure you realize what you're doing. Can we go? It's fucking cold out here."

Jordan turned to study Xane's face, then shook his head and started to walk again. Angels could get to him...Angels would always get to him. It screamed desperation and decline...

When they'd walked a few more blocks in silence, Jordan felt a hand brush along his forearm and turned to meet Xane's worried eyes. The guy looked like he didn't know what to say, but it was evident that he didn't want Jordan upset with him.

The ex-pilot sighed. "You're not...mine, not like that. But with him...you're more mine than his and you always will be...I hope. Just...I won't insist on anything else," he added, "But stay away from Jon."

"Fine," Xane agreed quietly, moving to walk next to him again. "You just sent me away and told him that I'm off limits...it's just..."

"We had to talk," Jordan explained, meeting his eyes better. "Telling him to lay off was just one of many things I wanted to share with him. Shit, you were gone enough at that point that he coulda gotten away with it. We're moving on Friday. We're gonna move closer to his center. The people in our building have a few too many ties to Lamb and Corringer."

"What happened to Lamb?" Xane queried, thinking back to the conversations he'd overheard. The man he'd extracted from the lecher had commented that Lamb was missing. It was obvious that he hadn't recognized Xane, and didn't seem to have enough common sense to appreciate that he'd gotten him away from some dirty old man. He'd gotten irritated when he'd realized Xane wasn't actually trying to pick him up.

"Lamb won't be an issue," Jordan said quietly. "Don't ask more than that."

"But he still has friends."

"Corringer's gotta set himself up his own holding. The sanctuary Lamb would have offered will keep him out of our reach for about a month total. That means in a week's time we'd better have all our ducks in a row, because shit will be about to hit the fan inside their circle."

Xane smirked, looking to his friend, "What does Chai say? ...about me, I mean. You're a little ranty, you know?"

Jordan gave him a look and rolled his eyes as he thought. "She tells me to watch out, because she'll leave me for cheating," he explained with a smirk. "She tells me that I'm being obsessive, and she tells me that I'm walking a fine line of jealousy."

"That's kinda flattering," he muttered, grinning more.

"I'm special like that," Jordan retorted wryly, turning toward their apartment building. He met the guy's eyes with a smirk, "You're too promiscuous for me anyway."

"You think I couldn't play at good?" Xane demanded, laughing a bit as they started up the stairs. "I could be a one man show if you wanted."

"This isn't a game," Jordan noted, pulling the door open to their floor. "It's not some emotional tease. If I commit, I expect commitment."

Xane decided he didn't have anything to say to that, and was saved from having to when Jordan pressed back against him. The former pilot's entire aura was dangerous threat.

"Hi, I'm Jacob," a man noted happily. "You one of the drifters Ray mentioned?"

"Back the fuck off," Jordan ordered, moving forward and pulling his gun. "Get the hell away from my house."

"You have a good tv," the guy snapped at him, which was when Xane noted the man shoving things into his pockets as he backed off. "You have more blankets."

"If you want blankets, ask to fucking borrow them," Jordan growled, raising the weapon. "If I see you near my place again, I'll fuckin' blast you."

"Fuck you," Jacob snapped, then disappeared down the hall.

"Was he trying to break in?" Xane demanded, wondering if he'd been spotted or not.

"Yes, the dumb-ass," Jordan muttered, shoving his key into the hole and opening it quickly. "Christ, it would have been faster to just break the door down." He shoved into the room and looked everything over. "He come around here often?"

"Off and on," Judas agreed. "He plays a friendly neighbor."

"You guys didn't bring anything of value, did you?"

"Just the tv," Danielle shrugged. "But that was your orders."

Jordan nodded, turning the thing on and flicking around until he found a news station. "Come on. We need to nail up blankets over the windows."

"Wouldn't drapes be better?" Danielle asked, frowning a bit.

"We're leaving here," Jordan shrugged. "It won't matter in the long run, but to keep in any warmth for now we have to cover the damn windows. Let's get that done. We all just need to sleep in the main room tonight, too. If you're not on windows, start pulling out the mattresses...Jesus I hate these buildings."

X x X x X

Chai smirked slightly at Jordan as he moved tiredly in the front door of their house. "Jon is pissed at you."

"What'd I do?" Jor asked, moving to kiss her cheek.

"Something about Xane," she shrugged a bit. "Something about the slave-trade...I wasn't able to follow it because he was drunk and ranting."

"So he called you?" Jordan blinked at his girlfriend, then shook his head.

"How's it going down there?" Quatre asked, moving from his room to study the pair. "Anything interesting?"

"We got broke into," Jordan returned, thinking back. "Someone stole a few blankets...tried to get the tv, too, but I'd...protected it," he snickered a bit. His cuffs had a radius that could be changed accordingly, and didn't interrupt the mechanism inside of televisions. "When I go back I need to bring more..."

"We should help," Chai muttered, thinking about the end number in her checkbook. "We should...set up a center or something."

"Could potentially get us down there," Quatre suggested, thinking it over himself. "We could set up a warehouse of blankets and warm clothes...seeing as it's getting cold."

"Maybe a few space heaters," Jordan noted, thinking. "We could set it up so we go to houses with babies and put up storm windows and things...calk the drafts. We'd have to be careful, because we'll be set up in Jon's area and the other places will get jealous...but helping like that will get other people down there too...maybe it'll be an easier winter on them."

"How do we do it?" Chai asked curiously, studying her boyfriend.

"Well, I'll set you up with a meeting with Une and give her a ball park figure...she can set up donation booths around town and stuff, and once we get a truck-load or two down there...and then later we can use trucks as cover for men. It'd be a valid operation...we could have it be a soldier drive or something, so our men show up there."

"As long as I don't have to start lying," she noted when he looked at her. "I get nervous when I lie."

"That's just fine...it'll be a legitimate op with a bit of help...and this way maybe they can have a Christmas...and Thanksgiving."

"I'll just get a check, then," Quatre noted, grinning. "I can still access the family funds, they just try to press me on why."

Jordan smirked slightly, meeting his eyes, "Good idea...we can come up with a few big family names to get peoples attention. Let me shower, then I'll go run your proposal by Une..." he kissed Chai again, winked at Quatre, and moved toward his bedroom.

Chai considered him a moment, then smiled sweetly at Quatre, "I'll be just a few minutes."

He snorted, rolling his eyes.

X x X x X

"Relena is coming," Heero noted to Wufei, staring across their living room. "She heard about Jordan's...Chai's...their idea...and wants to lend her face to the cause."

Wufei smirked at him. "You look just...so pleased."

"Shin was talking about coming in for a few days to get away from those bitch roommates of hers...and it'll coincide with Relena's visit."

"Didn't you two break it off?"

"She got pissed when we ran," Heero explained, looking the other direction. "We haven't really talked about it since."

"That's just..." Wufei covered his face with his hands. "Oh god, Heero. You know she's moved on."

"Yeah, but the whole unofficial end to our relationship makes things a bit...awkward."

"Not as awkward as what I just found out," Trowa noted, moving into the room and sorting through mail. "Relena's bad enough on her own, but guess who else wants to crash the party?"

Wufei and Heero both looked to him.

"Hilde herself is making an appearance."

The pair blanched slightly.

He snickered a bit, "God I can't wait for her to meet Chai...this should be fun."

"You're really...not funny," Heero muttered, looking around to Wufei. "Dear god, does Jordan know?"

"I don't know yet," Trowa returned, moving to sit with them at the table. "I just heard Une being all happy on the phone with...I think it was Dorothy, of all people."

"Oh god," Wufei flinched again, "She's not coming, is she?"

"No," Trowa reassured them. "Dorothy is smart enough to know that stabbing Quatre didn't go over too well. She's sending a check."

"Well," Heero muttered a bit resignedly, "I guess we're helping the people...in the wake of Zechs' speech, that should mean something to someone."

"Let's buy buildings," Trowa suggested, grinning a bit. "Maybe we could get on the covers of magazines again."

He wasn't really shocked when the only response to his idea was a pair of glares...it was all he'd been expecting.

X x X x X

"As a front, it works wonderfully," Jordan noted, "But on a personal level I think I'm gonna lose my fucking mind."

"Why?" Chai asked, smiling at him as they waited for the plane that had just landed to open up and let out its cargo.

"Because," Jordan returned, giving her a fake smile, "the women who have everyone up in such a fuss are women tied into our personal lives...for the last six or seven years, or whatever. Noin is fine. She's still trying to land Zechs...she'll lecture us about duty, coo over how cute you are, then settle in to be helpful. Relena's going to try to run the show, don't let her...she's sweet as can be, but she's used to being in charge."

"You're making me meet important people again," Chai accused, then thought about what he'd said. "You want me to keep in charge?"

"It was your idea, and you're the one who I need in charge. You get me, you get what I mean when I say something..."

There was a hiss of air as the motor finally spun down and the door pushed out. Une moved up beside Jordan and Chai with a bright smile...and a stewardess move down the stairs as soldiers moved out to stand at attention near the doors.

"She's royalty," Jordan noted sarcastically.

...and then Relena herself appeared in the doors. She'd grown since Jordan had last seen her, and her honey-colored hair was held back in an artful braid. She was wearing a black tank top under a loose sweater...and the black version of the white pants Chai'd been wearing. It amused Jordan even more to note that she had the black version of Chai's shoes.

The princess hesitated on the end of the stairs as she beamed over the four pilots she hadn't seen in months, then focused and stared at Jordan himself.

"Hi, Lena," he muttered a bit embarrassedly, not sure what kind of reception he'd get from her.

Relena strode down the last few steps and across the tarmac...to slap Jordan hard across the face as the press started snapping pictures. "You have some balls..."

"Jesus you sound like your brother," he muttered, touching his face as he studied her. "You don't hit as hard though."

"Well, this is a nice first impression," Chai noted, having shifted back some.

Relena focused on the girl, then blinked more at her before looking to Jordan.

"This is Chai," Jordan explained shifting slightly to indicate her. "She's who I was taking care of in Angels for the last five years...you know, the reason I have some balls."

The expression on Relena's face changed rapidly from shocked, to amazed, to contrite. "I'm so sorry, Duo!" she muttered, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I didn't realize...it's just..."

"My name is Jordan now," he muttered, holding her hands so the press knew they'd made up. He didn't feel like having it screamed all over the tabloids that he and Relena'd been engaged in a secret romance before he'd disappeared...they'd probably make it out to be cold feet or something.

"Jordan?" Relena repeated, smirking very slightly as she thought about it. "Still Maxwell?"

He nodded.

"Oh geeze," she shook her head, turning to smile at Chai. "This mission was your idea, wasn't it? Bringing Christmas to Angels?"

Chai nodded, smiling a bit abashedly. "I know how hard it is, and the holiday seasons are always depressing."

"You poor dear," Relena leaned forward to kiss her cheek as well. "I'm at your immediate disposal. Anything you need."

"You the only one on this plain?" Jordan asked nervously, looking back to the machine.

"No...but we all decided we needed to slap you and it wouldn't do for us all to do it at once."

"Shit," Jordan groaned, moving clear of his girlfriend so she could chat with Relena and he could get this beating. "Why me?" he appealed to Heero, who was looking antsy off to one side.

"Because it's her fault you disappeared," Heero replied promptly, indicating Chai.

Jordan gave him a look.

"You show up after five years and you have the balls to wait for us in greeting?" Hilde demanded in an evil sounding voice as she moved down the stairs to glower at him. "After all the crap?"

"Just slap me pretty-like for the cameras, Hilde," he muttered, sighing. "Get it out of your system so I can introduce you to my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" she demanded, moving closer to him. "You gonna traumatize her, too?"

"She won't be so bothered when I come to save her ass," Jordan hissed back, meeting the woman's eyes.

"You just killed twenty-seven men and you're saying save?"

"No," he replied, studying her seriously. "I did that about six years ago."

She gave him a disgusted look, then moved past him toward Chai and Relena.

"I think that's a burn," Wufei noted, thinking about it, "But I'm not quite sure how."

Heero snickered.

"Well, brat?" Noin asked, moving down the stairs with her arms crossed. "Got anything to say for yourself?"

"Not to you," he returned easily, studying her seriously. "The immediate insult was to them," he indicated his comrades. "I've already apologized."

The woman moved up to stand in his face...and slapped the opposite cheek Relena had.

Jordan stumbled back hard, almost falling, not quite reeling from the blow and staring at the cement to his right as he waited for the immediate pain to vanish, then focused on her in utter disbelief.

She absolutely beamed...and pulled him into a hug.

"Was there any reason for that?" he demanded, hugging her back as he massaged his jaw. He'd forgotten that she regularly trained soldiers took crap from no one...shit...

"Nah, Relena just half-assed hers," she smirked at him.

"You're horrible," he muttered, kissing her cheek. "Is there anyone else on there I should know about?"

"No...they're the people with the numbers of what we brought. Is this your idea?"

"It was Chai's," Jordan returned, moving toward the girl.

"Is it a cover?"

Jordan ignored that. "We lived there together for five years, but she grew up there. Winter is particularly hard because half the people can't afford their electricity bills and the buildings are crap anyway. You have to go buy drinking water when the pipes freeze-up."

"So...we're gonna do some real help, then? Not just whatever military front you're pulling?"

"This is Chai Benning," Jordan added, indicating his girlfriend. "Chai, these are Relena Peacecraft, Hilde Shbleiker, and Lucratzia Noin."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Chai muttered, smiling shyly at the three of them. "I'm glad for your help."

"Anything to promote change." Hilde was studying her with hard eyes, though.

Chai looked the woman over and somewhat dismissed her. "I'm not trying to change the world, just help the corner I called home."

Hilde's eyes, if possible, went even narrower.

"I have suitable rooms for you ladies," Une muttered, moving closer to them. "We've set up a special dinner tonight. We've been promoting the cause all week, so maybe if one or two of you could speak on how grateful the people will be for the help...I've had Chai muttering in large groups about how it was like for her growing up. She's cute enough that she got a few who wouldn't normally give a shit on her side...an then the ones who care...and your help should seal the deal."

"Hello, Ladies," Trowa muttered, moving up to them and looking them all over before looking around to Wufei, "Why do I have a girlfriend again?"

"Same reason I do," Wufei retorted.

"It's good to see you all again," Heero muttered, smiling around at them. "I have to go, though..."

...and he ran off across the field, looking to his watch.

"Short, sweet, and to the point," Relena noted, rolling her eyes and looking to Jordan. "You two still close?"

"Always," Jordan agreed.

"What's he doing?"

"Picking up his girlfriend," Jor shrugged. "He's trying to talk her into moving onto base, and it's harder to do when you annoy her by being late."

"So he has a girl now? How long's he been with her?"

"About three years, I believe," Jordan shrugged more as they started moving toward the waiting cars. "I have to go talk to some agents. We're gonna buy a building or two from lower Angels and make them over. That way we can set up a clinic and have warm rooms."

"How will you keep people out of them at night?" the princess looked slightly startled.

"We're gonna bring men down," Jordan shrugged as Noin focused on him. "We'll have an encampment set up to keep order while we are there, and at night we'll have men in. When this is over, I'll fix the building up and have tenants pay me for the taxes...and electricity for the whole building. That should keep the water on and flowing...that was the worst of it. I hated when the pipes froze."

Relena grabbed his wrist as the rest of the women moved past them, talking and not noticing the fallback. "Were you there the entire time?"

"Yeah, I was," he agreed, studying her over.

"Why?"

He turned to look at the ladies, then pointed at Chai.

Relena watched her a minute and looked back to him, and nodded.

It was all the answer she needed.

X x X x X

E/N: Thanks for the review. I apologize for the mass update, I really didn't mean to do so many so quickly...