Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Rituals ❯ Part 7 ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. And since this disclaimer is probably useless anyway, since this story is labelled `fan fiction', I'd better stop writing this disclaimer anyway.

No - I cannot see Heero stretching, it would be a rather weird mental image for my part, but it *is* good for you. And not even Heero-the-superhuman can keep in shape without training. At least not *my* Heero. *resolute nod* -- let's just pretend he doesn't to it too visibly, `kay? -

I didn't get many reviews on the last part - have everyone stopped reading? Reviews make me write faster, just thought you maybe wanted to know. *coughcough-hint-coughcough*

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Rituals - Part 7 by Maaya

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"Right, Heero?"

"Yes." I agreed, without really knowing to what anymore, and shifted the knapsack a little so that the hard lump of C4 settled slightly more comfortably between my shoulder blades. The setting of the sun was arriving and held the world in a blue half-light that it made Duo's eyes to look more dark blue than amethyst.

"How far is it left?" He asked cheerfully.

"Three kilometres."

"Oh." He paused. "I'm getting a hard on."

I didn't even blink at the `news'. "You've said that already."

He stopped and looked surprised. "I have? When?"

"Back at the safe-house." I turned my head, looked at him and added "Second day" when he still looked confused. His face was expressionless whilst he thought for a while, and then his shoulders suddenly slumped, heavily so because of the weight of his own knapsack.

"Oh, well." He complained before starting another steam of words, mostly a one-sided conversation.

He had become more and more talkative the closer we came to the base and didn't seem able to wipe a wide grin off from his face. Where I usually became quieter than usual and thoughtful before a mission, he became happy and a tad bit more `air-heady'. More . . . annoying too. I sighed and hoped he would become better when the actual mission began.

It had been decided that we would meet up with Wufei at a motel and wait out the main stir together, eventually also tend injuries during about four days before finding our way out of town and returning to the safe-house.

Wufei had taken the bike and left without any other word, so Duo and I had been forced to walk to the nearest city whereas Duo had used his abilities as a thief and stolen a car, whilst Wufei took his motorbike.

So we had walked, and then taken turns at driving until we ran out of gas on a small forest road just before entering a city. We could, of course, have stopped at a gas station earlier but the lesser we were spotted, the better.

We had studied the base's layout together before leaving and settled for a simple plan. The building was surrounded by civilian houses and a high metal fence, so blowing it all up was out of question, and would also go against the orders we'd received. We would instead sneak aboard a truck with supplies that was scheduled to arrive every Saturday night and as Duo put it, `get a lift' into the base's supply depot. Sneaking out of there would probably not be very hard, and neither of us was to use our guns more than when absolutely necessary - they sounded a little even with silencer. Knives were definitely the better alternative, even though you had to sneak up closely to the target before killing it.

Yes, I think of targets as `it'. It's easier to kill an object than taking a life.

I glanced at Duo out of the corner of my eye again and studied his eyes and face. He . . . glowed, no doubt about it. Did he really look forward to the mission as much as he seemed to? But even though he glowed, his brows were tense under the long bangs, as if he concentrated very much on something. I went back to my earlier staring, right ahead, and thought about the plan again - trying to find eventual faults in it. I didn't even notice when he stopped talking somewhere along the way.

It had rained earlier, it seemed, because the streets were wet and every light reflected in the black asphalt, reminding me of the white stars in a dark night sky. We used dark alleys and smaller roads as we walked through the city, so not to be sighted by too many eyes. Duo's black clothes melt into the shadows and I could almost not see him, even though my night vision was a lot better than most people's - not even the idle swaying of his braid was there, because he had stuffed it into the back of his outfit.

I couldn't even hear him breathe, and I thought for a twisted moment that he had managed to somehow leave me, but when I listened very closely I could make out small, slow inhales and exhales. This was Duo in his thief-mode. I knew my breaths were just as careful.

We came out on a bigger street again and I spotted `our' truck that was being loaded by men who were talking and laughing in loud voices. I stopped and slid into the shadows between some old rubbish bins and the stonewall gesturing for Duo to follow.

"Five minutes." I muttered lowly into his ear, meaning that it would take about five minutes before they left. We stood close enough to each other that I felt him nod against the side of my head - his body pressed against me tightly. He sneaked an arm around my waist to keep his balance in the small place, making us stand even closer. I noted for no reason at all that he smelled sweaty, with an undertone of some deodorant-scent I couldn't place. It was sweet, like cinnamon or gingerbread, but still fresh, flowerish somehow. [1]

We stood there, pressed against each other for five minutes, before the driver climbed into his seat and started the motor, and I tensed, knowing we would have to run soon. Duo did the same beside me. After another minute of talking to the man who had helped loading, the driver let out a ringing laugh and waited until the other man had disappeared into the shop before slowly starting down the street.

"Now." I whispered.

I had time to see him flash a grin at me in the light of a streetlamp before we both broke out into a quick and quiet run, avoiding to be spotted for too long in the rear view mirror as we reached the back of the truck before it had speed up enough.

I grabbed a metal verge with a hand and held on to reach for Duo's hand and pull him up beside me with a quick jerk, letting go when I felt him steady himself by grabbing the same verge I was holding.

It was fairly easy to slip inside the actual truck platform, it was the cheap kind of wall that didn't need to be lowered, but instead had a thin metal sliding door that folds automatically. You found that kind of trucks mostly on the colonies because they were more simple to produce, and didn't need as much material as the older kind.

Duo grumbled something I couldn't make out in the noise from the truck when he slipped beside behind me and pushed the door closed, cutting off the noise a little. He sighed and leaned against one large packing case.

"Well, twenty minutes to go."

His voice was kept low, to not assert the driver of our presence. I nodded in approval, partly because of that, and partly because of his approximated time. Walking over to the case, I leaned against it beside Duo and relaxed, knowing fully well I would need to be at my top. The walk and run had been a good warm up, though I would probably need to stretch to keep my body warm before leaving the truck. Duo, however, seemed slightly exhausted.

"You should sit down." I told him. "You need as much strength as possible."

He looked at me, surprised and a little offended. "I can't see *you* sitting down."

"I don't need it as much as you." I didn't - I wasn't even sweaty after our walk and sudden run, but Duo was obviously growing a layer of sweat on his forehead, and his breath had quickened. Not that he was in a bad shape - he was in a lot more physically fit than a normal person, but I was still better off than him.

"I'll stand - thank you very much." He muttered, tone betraying his hurt pride and stubbornness. "You can't be all that better than m --"

I had grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down in sitting position and he, taken by surprise, didn't resist. He stared at me wide-eyed for a moment before opening his mouth so say something I would never hear, because I cut him off before he had even started.

"Deep breaths." I instructed matter-of-factly, ignoring the strange look he sent my way. "Stretch your arms."

It suddenly dawned upon me that I actually cared. I wanted him to feel better, not just for the sake of the mission. If it were for the mission, I would have ignored it because he wasn't really endangering it - possibly slow it down, but it would be none of my concern. I would finish the mission without caring if he got caught.

But the key-word is *would*. Because I probably wouldn't any longer.

He glared at me, looking as if I had suddenly told him his hair was pink and tied in small pigtails all over his skull.

I was unfazed. "Rest, but don't let your muscles cool down."

Now he looked as if he had swallowed something sour, face grim and jaw clenched. "Don't tell me what to do!" He snapped, but seemed to regret it and put up a mocking grin instead. "Was that an order?"

I studied his face for a short while, confused. "No. It was for your own good. " Checking my watch, I couldn't help but hope that the answer had been the best one. Would he do as I said if I ordered him to it?

The sudden, if tense, smile relieved me and I almost caught myself smiling back. Almost, though.

We did the rest of the short trip in silence and Duo actually did some stretching, though he glared at me all the time, as if he expected me to mock him or something.

I felt the truck slow down long before it actually stopped, and I could imagine the driver being stopped and questioned about his cargo, maybe talk and tell the soldier some news and jokes, before the noise of steel rub against stone told us that a gate had been opened and the truck started going again.

We heard again as the gate closed behind us, and I sent Duo, who stood by the door to the truck and looking at me questioningly, a look and nod, telling him without words that he should start opening it.

He grinned, suddenly all happiness and cheerfulness again, and complied.

He slid the door open slowly, mindful not to make the slightest sound and looked around with sharp eyes, before nodding to me - announcing that the coast was clear. And before I had the time to blink, much less nod back, he grinned quickly towards me before jumping down and out of sight.

I stopped and stared, surprised, at where he had disappeared and a little voice in my head groaned and waited for a sound of him touching the floor to reach my ear.

But no such sound came, how long I ever waited.

The truck was still moving, but only a little, and when I walked up to look at where he was and jump down myself, I found him standing and grinning only feet away from the trucks.

I snorted soundlessly and jumped down myself as quiet as I could, miming `go' to him wit the sure knowledge that he could read my lips.

He did as he was told, turning around to run towards a door, but keeping behind the truck or a packing case out of the drivers sight. He was moving fast, and with a certain agility I had never seen him use before. I could only note to myself that I had yet another piece to add to my puzzle of him - Duo the Thief. It was beginning to feel questionable whenever or not the puzzle would ever be finished, I mused when I followed him near enough to touch his braid if it had been swaying behind him instead of being tucked inside his shirt.

He opened the door just before the truck stopped and the driver turned the motor off, but stayed by it and did a polite - mockingly polite - gesture for me to enter first. I shrugged and did as he wished.

I looked around where I had entered and adjusted the knives strapped around my stomach under the tank top, feeling them through to assure myself that none was stuck in their sheaths. A side glance towards Duo told me that he was doing the same thing, feeling around on his body. I noted with interest some of the places where he felt, he hadn't let me see when he put away all the knives and stored the information away for later use.

We were in a corridor, empty by the looks of it, but we slid into the shadows anyway and walked as soundless as possible. If the maps I had received from Dr. J were accurate, then we would currently be in the west sleeping quarters, but from the sound from one of the closed doors was at least one man and a woman doing something entirely different from sleeping. Duo stopped outside that door and wiggled his eyebrows to me, grinning like a maniac, mimicking some of the moans comically.

I discovered that snorting soundlessly doesn't show too visibly in your face, because Duo didn't seem able to see it.

We continued out way down to the computer base and finally found it, with an image of a computer, and the usual `no-smoking' sign that was on all doors.

I put my hand on the handle, but didn't have time to push it down, because someone did it for me.

Immediately letting go of the handle, my hand flew towards nearest my knife and pulled it out, but before I had a chance to use it, something flew past me and a low groan became the last sound the soldier uttered.

When the quick, and in this case useless, dose of adrenaline had calmed in my body, I looked up and saw Duo lean over the body of a woman, grimacing as he drew a knife out from her neck. He looked up at me forgetting to mime, as he mumbled a small "yuck".

I found myself almost wishing that Wufei had been here to see Duo in this element - that would stop his doubting fast enough.

A lot of my own doubting stopped in that moment too. Seeing Duo, unfazed, draw a bloody knife out of someone's body did that.

The computer room was, to our luck, empty and without saying anything; we both grabbed one of the woman's foot each and pulled her into the room, closing and locking the door behind us.

I took a good look at the woman's face before letting go. She had light blue eyes and shoulder long, light brown hair that looked darker than it actually was because of her pale, thin face with sharp features. A small drop of blood fell onto her cheek and I looked up to see Duo glance down onto the face the same way I did, knife hanging loosely above her head.

He looked almost . . . apologetic.

I let go of her foot to walk over to what I deemed the main computer, quickly forgetting everything about the woman's - soldier's face as I set to search for the information we had come to collect. Pulling out a small disk from a strap under my tank top, I then shrugged out of the leather-straps of the knapsack and handed the bag to Duo, who took it and began to set out the explosives.

"We should have about five minutes before anyone reaches the place and realizes that they have an intruder." He mused aloud as he walked around in the room. "Do you think she was going for a shift-change?"

It was no doubt who `she' was. "No." I muttered and began to type.

"Eh?" He stopped and looked at me, surprised. "How can you be so sure?"

Password. I typed in a standard code for programmers, which is made to pass easy security. It didn't work. "She was assigned to stay the whole night. Why she even unlocked and opened the door, I can't answer."

He whistled. "The whole night? Tough. She was the geek, wasn't she? The one to take care of the whole computer-centre?"

I agreed quietly and set to type again, glad he didn't ask how I knew that. He had probably already figured out that I had read it somewhere in the information J sent me. He hadn't bothered to read all of it, since he knew I would do it anyway.

Password. I glanced around in the room for clues, trying several ones such as `amethyst' (for the stone in her blood splattered necklace), `anneoleson' (her name), `computertwosix' and then suddenly noticed how pale the soldier's skin and eyes were.

A colonist? Then what was she doing with OZ? I shrugged at the story about her background I would probably never hear and quickly typed `el-two' for L2.

It worked.

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TBC

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I will write a side story about the woman later, because I want to show how people never revealed in the series can have a history anyway. Call me stupid, but hey, a lot must have been going on during that war and the pilots + Relena can't have been the only ones to do something, right?

[1] Anyone ever found out what male-deodorant actually smells? It's no actual smell, but still sweet and fresh, just like Heero thought. And yes, I've done research - I've smelled on my brother's and cousins' and male-friends' deos to find out. -_- Why can't it be as simple as with women's perfumes? It's much easier to make out if it's fruit, flower etc.