Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sandstorm ❯ Chapter 2

Sandstorm

By Misanagi

Rating: R
Pairings: None yet
Warnings: Angst, violence.
Summary: Years after the war, the world is still wondering about the identities of the mysterious Gundam pilots. Now they have an answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters used in this fic.
Archive: http://www.psinergy.com/dryerspace/gundaniumline/misanagi/misanagi.html

www.fanfiction.net/~misanagi
Feedback: Yes please! misanagi_zzz@hotmail.com

Thanks to Anne and Haraamis, for being wonderful beta readers. *hugs* Thanks a lot!

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Chapter 2

The door of the car banged loudly as Une got out. She was frustrated already. Traffic near the Winner mansion was hell, and the driver wasn't helping. Une was in no mood to deal with the nervous rookie who had the misfortune of being assigned to drive her on a day like this. Walking was an equally useful way of transportation and in that precise moment, even faster.

She didn't have to walk far before the herd of reporters became visible. Une sighed; she hated reporters with all her heart. In her experience they were deceiving, annoying, obnoxious, and evil beasts who fed on the suffering of mankind. That, combined with her general mood that afternoon, meant that she had absolutely no patience to deal with them.

She walked right through the cameras, microphones, and make-up-covered girls, and was sure that she had managed to knock a couple of them to the ground on her way. She didn't even take the time to stop in front of the Preventer barricade; she just jumped right over it and kept walking, straight for her prey. "Woods, what did I say about these reporters?"

Unecould see the officer literally jump when he heard her voice. He turned quickly to face her. Une smiled; the man was scared. "Ma'am, you said to move the reporters away from the house, Ma'am."

"And do you think that this is away?" asked Une gesturing to the reporters who still had a clear view of the house. Woods remained silent. "No, Woods, this is not away! I want all of them moved back. If you need to close the street, then do it."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Unekept glaring at the man until he moved. Woods was actually a good Preventer, but Une was feeling frustrated and wanted things to be dealt with expeditiously.

The outside perimeter looked good enough, but it wasn't that important. It was only made to keep the reporters and nosy people out. Une was more worried about the inside perimeter's security, which was currently monitoring the activities around Quatre's home, not a couple of blocks away.

She decided to let Woods handle the reporter situation and walked to the gate of the house where her most trusted man on the case, who was also the team leader, was waiting for her.

"Ma'am," he saluted as soon as she got close enough. "We've been waiting for you."

"Now is not the time, Martinez. I'm frustrated enough as it is. I want a status report now."

"We've moved the reporters and have done a complete search of the perimeter. Everything outside that tall black fence is clean. I have men covering each side and entrance, but they are not allowed to go inside the house, since you ordered us to wait for you, Ma'am."

Unetook a moment to evaluate the situation. Martinezhad been pretty efficient, and she expected no less of him. She wouldn't have put him in charge of Quatre's security if she didn't fully trust him and his capabilities as a Preventer. "Very well, Martinez. I'll be going in alone. You are to stay out here and make sure no one attempts to follow me. You'll only come in after I give you the order, understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am," answered Martinez. He hesitated a moment and then added, "are you sure you don't want anyone else to go in with you?"

"Are you doubting my capabilities, Martinez?" asked Une in an irritated voice. She knew that she had to present herself that way to her subordinates, but she actually appreciated the fact that Martinezhad tried to stop her. After all, the man didn't know the whole situation the way she did. He probably thought she would be facing a dangerous and potentially angry Gundam pilot alone, and he had risked being punished for trying to protect her. Yes, she definitely liked Martinez.

"No, Ma'am. I'm sorry," he answered. "I'll be ready out here, just in case anything happens, Ma'am."

Unenodded to him and walked to the gate. She opened the panel and pressed the fourteen-digit code that Wufei had given her. According to him, the outside panel didn't only read the code but also analyzed the finger prints of the person entering it. Quatre had created a list of all the people who could possibly enter a code. The gate wouldn't open unless the code matched the person who used it, and everyone had a different code. Une had pointed out to Wufei that if that was the case, she wouldn't be able to get in. She hadn't been very surprised when Wufei had smirked. He had informed her, in a calm and amused voice, that knowing Quatre, he would have probably thought ahead, and had already known that the only code she could get fast enough was Wufei's.

She smirked when the gate opened. Wufei had been right.

As soon as she was through the gate, it closed behind her. Une didn't look back and instead made her way towards the house, following the paved road. She started counting the trees, and when she arrived in front of number seven, she walked to it. After circling it once, she found the hidden panel. She entered her complete name followed by a five-digit code before she returned to the road again and continued her way to the house.

Unehad already noticed a lot of cameras and lasers, and she was sure that there were even more. Wufei had been right. If she didn't follow his directions to the dot, she wouldn't be able to get inside. She didn't have any doubt that Quatre was already aware of her presence, and that maybe that was the only thing keeping her from injury. A Gundam pilot's security wasn't something to mess with.

The front door only needed another six digit code and a voice print before it opened and Une let herself in. Again, the door closed behind her on it's own.

The house was sad, or at least, that was the impression she got when she first looked around it. The tall windows were covered by heavy curtains, and the dim light that illuminated the grand living room only made it seem hunted. The furniture seemed abandoned. Even though it wasn't dirty, Une could see the thin layer of dust covering the sofas, tables, porcelain sculptures and crystal lamps.

She spotted the long set of stairs leading to a corridor even darker than the shady living room. Slowly, she approached it, and with every step she took, the feeling of sorrow deepened. It seemed as if the house was talking, expressing silent echoes of emotions.

As Wufei had told her, she found Quatre in the study behind the third door to the left. However, the picture in front of her wasn't what she had expected to see. Unlike the rest of the house, the study was illuminated by the orange sun that came through the window. The contrast should have made the room different, more joyful than the others, but that was not the case.

The first thing she noticed was the blond hair falling freely over Quatre's face. His eyes were closed, and his head was pillowed on his arms. He was sitting at his desk, surrounded by piles of documents and four empty bottles of wine. "I never thought I would see the day when Quatre Winner decided to drown his problems in alcohol." Une's voice was severe, and it betrayed nothing about the way she felt inside or the momentary urge she had to take Quatre in her arms and comfort him.

He raised his head slowly, the bangs dangling in front of his face. His eyes opened to reveal a glazy look and a tired expression. A two day beard shadowed his face and was a proof of his solitude. The Quatre Winner Une knew would never allow himself to be seen in such a state.

"I'm not drowning my problems, Lady. I did everything in my power to solve them," he answered in a raspy voice. "Now, I'm just celebrating my failure."

Unewanted to talk but the words wouldn't leave her lips. Behind the alcohol and the blurry look in his eyes, Une could still see the strategist. Every move had been thought through and every step executed. The plan had finally reached its conclusion, and now it was time for the tactician to face the consequences.

"Are you here to arrest me, Lady?" Quatre looked at her. His eyes weren't showing fear or anger but the acceptance of someone who is prepared to face his fate.

"No. Relena convinced the senate to keep you under house arrest. The Preventers have been assigned to guard you.".

"Don't they think I would try to escape?" he asked, showing some surprise.

"Relena convinced them that if you wanted to go, you would have disappeared months ago."

Unewaited for a reply but it didn't come. Quatre stayed silent, looking at a distant point on the beige wall. "So, why didn't you?" she finally asked.

Quatre looked at her again. "I can't. This is my problem, and I need to face it."

There was something wrong with the tone of Quatre's voice. It wasn't the alcohol or the sadness but something deeper, and Une didn't like it at all. "Don't play the victim, Winner. It doesn't suit you."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" he said, giving her a sad smile. "Lady, I can't hide forever. What I did during the war is constantly in my mind, but if I had the choice, I would do it again. However, I've always known, even before I started fighting, that there would come a time when I would have to face my actions. It seems that the time is now."

Unehad had enough. She pressed the palms of her hands on top of the desk and moved closer, only stopping centimeters away from Quatre's face. "Winner, don't forget that you are not the only one in this room with a heavy conscience. However, that doesn't mean that a group of people who lived the war as spectators and now claim to be the voice of integrity, has the right to judge /you/ or any of us."

Quatre closed his eyes and lowered his head. "We have peace now, Lady. A peace we all fought to achieve. It's not perfect; the idea of having a perfect world is very naïve, but at least it's something." Quatre sighed and looked at Une from behind his bangs. "Maybe they don't have the right to judge me, but we live in a very fragile society, and the rules they are upholding were designed to protect it. I will submit to those rules. It's necessary. I did not battle so hard to see everything crumble at my feet, just because I was too afraid to keep fighting for it. Even if this time, the strategy is to give up."

Lady Une turned around and walked silently to the door. She shook her head and sighed. "Quatre, you are a very odd person."

* * *

Catherine Bloom groaned as she pressed herself against the wall, and allowed Trowa to run from one side of the small trailer to the other. She could tell that he was worried, but Trowa was also hiding a lot more emotions than that. All those years in the company of her new found brother had taught her that he wasn't a very emotional person. Trowa had that special quality. He could think clearly in any situation and remain calm when others would have lost all control. But now, it appeared that he had lost some of that control too.

When they had seen the news footage, Trowa had appeared to take it well, or at least as well as could be expected. Catherine had found out soon afterwards that that was not the case. Her brother had been quiet for a very long time, just sitting in front of the vid, looking at the blank screen, deep in thought. Catherine had chosen to stay silent. The news had been a shock for her too, but she knew that Trowa cared a lot about Quatre, and she couldn't begin to wonder what was going through his head.

Then, suddenly, an hour ago, Trowa had woken from his stupor and had begun pacing from one part of the trailer to the other, gathering his things. He had announced to Catherine that he was going to Earth, to see Quatre.

She didn't like it. It was not that she couldn't understand what her brother was going through. She could. Catherine wasn't blind and she could was able to recognize affection when she saw it. It was just that she was equally worried about Trowa. Her brother had also been a Gundam pilot during the wars. If information about Quatre had managed to reach the public, maybe Trowa was in danger too and his trip to Earth was only going to attract attention.

"You know Quatre wouldn't want you to go. You are just putting yourself in danger." Catherine bit her lip. She didn't want to voice her concerns; she knew that Trowa already had a lot to worry about, but her heart was doing all the talking, and her brain wasn't fast enough to prevent it.

Trowa stopped mid way to his room, a pair of socks falling from his hands at the abrupt motion. He ignored it and instead turned to look at Catherine. "I know very well what Quatre wants. It has become pretty clear to me now."

Catherine flinched at the coldness of his voice. Trowa was angry, and Catherine couldn't say that she blamed him. She knew that even though Quatre and Trowa didn't talk constantly and the visits had become further apart, they still considered each other as friends. Trowa had been hurt when the little contact he had with Quatre had stopped completely. He had blamed himself for it, thinking that choosing to live so far away from the people he had come to love as friends had been the cause. Trowa had tried to call Quatre a couple of times but had never managed to talk to him. His calls were always answered by a secretary who politely informed him that Mr. Winner was unavailable.

Trowa hadn't spoken much about it but Catherine could tell he was upset. For months she had wanted to locate Quatre Winner and hit him over the head for ignoring his friends. She had been angry with him because he was hurting Trowa, but after the newscast, all that resentment had transformed into respect.

Quatre had hurt Trowa, but she could understand why he had done it. He was trying to protect Trowa, just as she was trying to look after him now. But at this moment, looking at Trowa's worried eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if he still needed to be sheltered.

"Don't be mad at him, Trowa. He was acting with your best interests at heart."

Trowa didn't reply. He just picked up his socks from the floor and walked silently to his room. Catherine sighed and then followed him.

Trowa was standing in front of the single bed. A small backpack was resting on top of the bed, and it was surrounded by more things than could ever fit in there.

"I can't remember when I acquired so many things," he said as he folded a blue shirt that Quatre had once given him as a gift. There was no need for a special occasion, or so Quatre had said when he'd handed it to Trowa. He had just done it because he could. A gift from the heart. "I remember a time when all I owned could fit in this bag."

Catherine walked over to her brother and put a hand on his shoulder. She brushed the back of her hand across his face before giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "If you are going to spend the next twenty hours in a shuttle, I suggest you go rest. You've been awake the whole night and that's not healthy. Go on. You can use my room. I'll get this done for you."

Trowa opened his mouth to protest, but Catherine glared at him. After a moment of hesitation, he just nodded and left the room. "Thanks, Cathy," he said on his way out.

Catherine folded the blue shirt and placed it in the bag. Maybe Trowa wouldn't need it, but she was sure he would like having it with him. She smiled a little. Maybe it was time to trust Trowa to protect himself and let him go.

It was time for her brother to find his way.

* * *

Wufei put his feet on top of his desk and closed his eyes. There was a headache bothering him, and no matter what he tried to do, the annoying thing wouldn't go away. Normally, he would try meditation to get his muscles to relax and clear his mind, but he didn't have time for that now.

Relenaand Heero were scheduled to arrive at any moment. They had tried to arrange a meeting for the day before, but after all the press and politicians Relena had to deal with, they had been too tired to make the trip to Preventer headquarters last night. Instead, they had scheduled a meeting for this afternoon.

The clock on the wall beeped two times, signaling that it was six o' clock, time to go home. Wufei couldn't help but snicker. He hadn't been home since he had seen that news bulletin and had rushed to Preventers; that had been two nights ago. Une had insisted that he needed to go home and rest, but Wufei had refused. He liked to be ready and somehow, he felt that if he left the Preventers building, it would be like he was abandoning his friend. He knew that he couldn't be with Quatre, so Preventers was the closest he could get.

He had been sleeping on the couch and had used the showers at the gym. The true sacrifice, however, was eating the cafeteria food; it was nothing more than trash for the mouth as well as for the body. Still, Wufei was too busy searching through the Preventers files and asking for status reports at the Winner mansion to care much about it.

"You know, that headache would go away a lot faster if you would stop being your stubborn self and go home to have a decent rest."

Wufei opened his eyes, but he already knew who the person at the door was. "Sally, I thought you had already given up. I've told you before; I'm not ready to go home."

Sally glared at Wufei and entered the office without waiting for an invitation. She sat down on the leather couch in the corner, adopting a relaxed pose. "Chang, you are mistaken if you think I give up easily. I'm a doctor, I'm used to dealing with obnoxious patients, and if you think that the fact that you are the most obstinate man on the face of the planet and the colonies is going to scare me, you have another thing coming."

"Facts are stubborn things," replied Wufei, taking his feet off the table. "Tobias Smollett."

Sally smirked. She nodded once, letting Wufei know that his challenge had been accepted. "In any contest between power and patience, bet on patience. Prescott."

"Power is the ability to get things done," said Wufei in a bored tone, meant to hide the fact that he was indeed amusing himself. "Rosabeth Moss Kanter."

After crossing her legs, Sally gave Wufei a seductive smile. "Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. Charles Reade."

Wufei raised an eyebrow before returning the smile. "Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power. Barbara Jordan."

Sally brushed some locks from her face, the smile no longer seductive but amused. "We should take care not to make intellect our god;" She took a moment to look at Wufei from head to toe before continuing. "It has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality... Einstein."

Wufei couldn't stop himself from chuckling. "Touché," he said, bowing his head slightly. "However, my place is still in this office."

Sally sighed. "Figures! Would you at least let me give you something for the pain?"

"You know I don't like meds, Sally."

"And you know you are no help if you are sick, Chang. Don't be stupid." Sally closed her fists, a sure sign that she was getting annoyed with him, and if there was something Wufei didn't want to face right now, it was an annoyed Sally.

"Fine," he said simply, and apparently that was all Sally needed to hear. She took a box filled with pills from her pocket and tossed it on Wufei's desk. "Take two now but keep them with you in case the headache returns. Don't take more than one every four hours after the initial two."

Wufei took the box and fixed Sally with a look. He didn't need to say it; she knew him well enough to know that he wasn't one to overdose. After taking two of the white pills on his hand, he grabbed his unfinished cup of tea from the table and swallowed the pills.

"I'm glad to see he finally listened to someone," commented Une as she entered the office. "Good job, Sally."

Sally smiled and nodded.

"What's the status?" asked Wufei, ignoring all the other comments. He was more interested in what was happening outside Quatre's house than the fact that he had just been tricked.

Unesat in one of the chairs in front of Wufei's desk and took a sip of the coffee she had in her hand. "The reporters are still crowding the streets, but since we arrested that cameraman who tried to sneak past the barricade, confiscated his equipment, and banned his team from the site, they had been calmer. Martinez is handling the security in the second perimeter; he has already established the rounds for the days and the nights and is aware of everything that's happening. He is also coordinating the vigilance inside Quatre's home, according to my specifications."

"How is Quatre coping with that?" asked Wufei, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice.

Unesighed. "He has barricaded himself in his studio, disabled all his security equipment, and let Preventers take over the house." Une took another sip of coffee before giving Wufei a serious look. "Quatre has been drinking," She informed them in an even tone.

Wufei remained silent. He had known Quatre for many years, and he could count on one hand the times he had seen the blond drunk, and all of them had been celebrations of special occasions. Quatre had never been one to turn to alcohol. The blond was not only a soldier, but a businessman and a politician as well; he always faced his problems and sometimes he did it so well that he forgot to ask for help. Quatre was used to handling things and being in control of any situation. Quatre Winner did not look for the answers at the bottom of a bottle.

Wufei could feel himself getting angrier by the minute. The fact that Quatre was drinking was a testimony of how bad things really were. Quatre wasn't weak but it sounded as though he was giving up, and that was something Wufei couldn't tolerate; none of his friends were allowed to give up. "I need to go and smack some sense into him," Wufei announced and then got up from his chair and started walking to the door.

"Stop right there," said Une. "We've had this discussion before, Wufei. It's not wise for you to go there. It's too dangerous."

"I know that, but I'm getting irritated and what you are telling me about Winner isn't helping one bit."

"Quatre must be in deep trouble if you are calling him Winner." Wufei turned to the door, and sure enough, Heero Yuy was standing there with Relena by his side.

Wufei nodded at Relena and then walked to the door stopping beside Heero. "I need a cup of tea," he said and kept walking, sure that Heero was only a few steps behind him.

The corridor was silent. After a few months working in Preventers and lots of complaints to Une, Wufei had managed to get an office on the third floor where the library was located, which meant that it was a quiet place. The only disadvantage was that the cafeteria was situated on the other side of the building on the sixth floor, but Wufei didn't mind. He liked his peace and solitude.

Wufei headed for the stairs instead of the elevator, and Heero followed without a question. They climbed two floors in silence, before Wufei turned and sat on the steps. "He /is/ drinking," he said, right after Heero had found a place to stand against a wall.

"Quatre doesn't drink," Heero stated.

"Apparently, he picked this time to start," commented Wufei. "I'm worried."

"We all are."

"We need to do something."

Heero nodded. "Duo called. He got on a shuttle at six this morning."

"Trowa called from the shuttle port on L3. They both must be arriving at midnight."

"We can meet them here and formulate a plan. We are going on a rescue mission, whether Quatre wants it or not."

Wufei nodded, and they walked silently to the cafeteria. Wufei checked his watch. Just another five hours and then, no matter what, they were going to get Quatre.

* * *

Duo sighed as he moved again in his seat. "I hate traveling by public shuttle," he mumbled to himself.

"Young man," said the old lady beside him in a lecturing tone, "you should know that this is the best way to travel. When I was your age, making a trip to Earth was a lot more complicated. It took twice as long, and the traveling conditions weren't as good. Be grateful that we now have comfortable seats, because back in my days, shuttles like these were a luxury few could afford, and for the average girl like me, it was simply impossible. We had to travel in second class, young man. Do you know what that was like…?"

Duo suppressed another sigh as he nodded at the woman. He didn't doubt that the old lady had good insight to what life had been like in earlier times, but he wasn't in the mood to listen to her. He had been traveling for the last eighteen hours; he was tired, cranky and very worried about Quatre.

He hoped that Hilde would forgive him for putting a hole in her wall but at the moment he had seen the newscast, he hadn't been able to control himself. It hadn't just been the shock of finding out that way that Quatre's role in the war had been leaked to the press, but also the realization as to why Quatre had distanced himself from the rest of the ex-pilots. Duo was still angry. He could understand Quatre's position, and why he had done it, but that didn't mean that Duo wasn't going to kick Quatre's blond ass all the way to the moon for pulling a stun like that.

Hilde had helped Duo pack as soon as he had promised to fix her wall after all the mess was over. Of course, he knew that he had also made the implicit promise of coming back, so he had better take care of himself. Duo didn't know what was going to happen; all he knew was that a friend was in trouble and he was going to help. Still, Duo Maxwell wasn't one to take off unprepared, and he was carrying enough implements to make sure that he would be ready for anything.

"... don't you?"

"Huh? I mean, sorry, what did you say?" asked Duo, knowing that a simple nod of his head wasn't going to cut it this time.

"I was asking if you agreed with me."

Duo blinked. "On the subject of..."

"Youth these days!" exclaimed the woman. "Their problem is that they never listen. Like that Winner boy. If he had listened to his father, like youngsters are supposed to, he wouldn't be in so much trouble right now. What did he think he was doing fighting a war? Do you know how old they said he was when he piloted that Gundam?"

"Fifteen," answered Duo, as a reflex.

"Yes, fifteen. Or at least that was what that pretty woman on the news said. Can you imagine that? A fifteen-year-old fighting a war? Killing people at such a young age? Terrible."

"Yes, terrible" repeated Duo. His mind was suddenly filled with events of the past, memories of battles and killings, loss, pain and sorrow. "Much too young."

"Yes, that's what I've been saying," agreed the woman. "My granddaughter was his age, Winner's age I mean, at the time of the war. Her parents kept her home and didn't let her out of their sight. She was happily oblivious of what was going on." The woman stopped for a moment to look at Duo. "She is about your age. How old were you then? In the war, I mean."

"Fifteen, ma'am."

She looked at him again, as if she was evaluating him. "You look like you turned out okay, young man. I bet your parents also took good care of you during the war."

"Actually, I'm an orphan."

"An orphan?" asked the woman, as if she didn't believe it. "Who took care of you then? A child needs someone to take care of him. It isn't right for a child to take care of himself."

Duo really didn't like this conversation. He wasn't going to lie to the old lady, but he definitely wasn't going to tell her his life story. He was sure that she would disapprove.

"It is not polite to keep a lady waiting for an answer."

Duo sighed. "I was-"

"We are glad to inform you that we are about to land on Earth," interrupted a female voice coming from the speakers. "Please make sure that your seatbelts are fastened and remember that for your own safety, it is forbidden to move from your seats."

"Is this your first trip to Earth, young man?" asked the lady as she looked out the window.

"No, it's not."

"So, you have been there before? Isn't it a beautiful place? Nothing like the colonies; things are different on Earth..."

Duo relaxed in his seat and resumed his nodding. He liked this conversation a lot better.

Ten minutes and a lecture about the greatness of the sea later, Duo was exiting the shuttle and saying goodbye to the old lady.

Due to the late hour, the shuttle port was almost empty but Duo would have recognized the tall figure everywhere, even in a crowd.

"So, it's official," he said as he caught up with the person in question. "This little incident has resulted in a reunion."

"I would have preferred that we had met under different circumstances," answered Trowa. "But it's still good to see you, Duo."

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Duo. "So, let's go get Quatre, spank him for being a bad boy, and celebrate."

Trowa smirked. "I've missed you."

"Yeah, I've missed you t--" Duo grinned apologetically at Trowa as he took the cell phone from his jacket. "Maxwell here... What? Wufei, this better be a joke... understood... He is with me... We are on our way."

Duo closed his phone and put it in his jacket before looking at Trowa with a serious expression. "That was Wufei. Quatre's been kidnapped."

* * *

TBC