Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Sex, Substances, Sin, Salvation ❯ V - C - Shadows in Darkness ( Chapter 38 )

Sex, Substances, Sin, Salvation

How these 4 `s' words are intertwined

By Masamune Reforged

WhenShootingStarsFall.com

Warnings: Yaoi (tons of pairings, but mostly 1x2, 3x4 and implied former 13x6. Lemons amuck.), cursing, drug use, violence, angst, insanity, cameos, AU, lunacy, racism. All the bad shit you'd expect in real life.

 

Page V: “Steps Down an Unlit Path”

Part C of Page V

“Shadows in Darkness”

Present tense, 3rd person narration

 

It is the middle of the night, a Wednesday night. The only things awake are those to be avoided.

 

“Who the hell are you? Where's Captain Ramius?”

 

The man is impolite, but most government officials are. He has a tall, old fashioned, black hat, the kind with the wide brim, the darkest of black. His spectacles reflect the headlights from the sedan facing him, but his wide face is an obvious sneer. He has a black tie, a black suit, and a black overcoat. His wide frame is accented by his short stature, but he stands like a giant, chest broad with the kind of ego that most `accomplished' men in his field have.

 

“Unfortunately, Captain Ramius won't be arriving for some time,” another man, this one bathed totally in shadow, speaks. He is standing next to the passenger side of the sedan. “However, you aren't going to be working for her, Inspector Acht.”

 

“You're not from Intelligence, are you?” Inspector Acht asks, buying time. He did not expect to meet an unknown third party at his rendezvous in Metro City. Such was the point of the forged documents to cover his entry into the city. “Are you one of those meddlers from Oversight? Or maybe a state goon?”

 

“I am not with the government,” the shadowed man says. “However, I can assure you that the ones who assigned you to this investigation have placed you under my command.”

 

“What kind of shit is this?” Acht barks. He makes a motion towards his pockets, either to draw a weapon or signal for backup, but the echoing click of a machine gun safety being removed stops him cold. There is more than one man lurking in the unfinished construction site's shadows.

 

“I understand your frustration, Inspector Acht.” The `man of honor' is just that, one who, despite no noble heritage or sophisticated upbringing, carries himself with the utmost dignity. “But you see, the nature of your investigation is such that even you had to be unaware of your true assignment until you were away from the Capital.”

 

“My true assignment?” Acht can't help but show the curiosity in his voice. He has always been the kind that seeks for the highest, most rewarding jobs. That is why the organization picked him as its pawn. “Will that assignment be confirmed by headquarters?”

 

“No. No, it will never be confirmed,” the hidden figure answers truthfully. Lying to an ally, even if just a lowly pawn, is a stain on such a reputation as his. “However, you will be guaranteed a promotion and triple your annual salary if you complete this assignment.”

 

“Is that so?” Acht no longer seems to care about the mysterious identity of his employers. If ambition does not blind, it at least narrows the eyes of the ambitious so that they can only behold the glittering prize before them. The same is true in horse racing. “Then this operation is dark?”

 

“Yes,” the man of honor answers. It is the darkest of operations. “And we will also take the trouble of drafting your regular reports, to let you focus on your investigation of the Metro City police force.”

 

“The Metro City police?” Acht repeats. “Investigating them was the assignment I received at the Capital. How is this any different?”

 

“While you must appear to investigate the other precincts so as not to be discovered, your real investigation concerns only one, the 106th Precinct.”

 

“That is Zechs Merquise's precinct.” Acht has read up on the briefings. “That lapdog of Kushrenada's can't possibly be connected to any foreign enemy cell.”

 

“Merquise may cause you some pains, but you will have our support from the inside,” the furtive shadow promises. “It should not be too hard for you to retrieve what has been lost.”

 

“Retrieve?” Acht spits the word out with audible disdain at the idea. It is far too similar to the games of dogs. But, as much as he tries to convince himself otherwise, that is exactly what Inspector Acht is, a beast playing fetch.

 

“Yes.” The man in the shadows makes some kind of signal. The driver, identity hidden against the glare of the headlights, begins to approach Acht. “Recently the 106th Precinct got their hands on something very precious, very important to the people who gave you this assignment. If you can retrieve it before they find out what it is, you will receive the payment and promotion I explained earlier.”

 

The approaching man is carrying a suitcase. He sets it down ten feet away from Acht and opens it. The faces on the bills inside are unreadable, but there are many of them. Also, on top of the money lies a black object. Acht squints his eyes, trying to see what it is.

 

“And, if you fail, you will be terminated,” the man of honor promises. A gun is on top of the neatly folded, carefully laundered currency. “Do you understand?”

 

“Who do I make my reports to?” Acht tries hard not to sound scared. He tries to tell himself that the very real prospect of his death does not frighten him. He is a brave man, a brave man, a brave man...

 

“Do you understand and accept?” the hidden man asks again.

 

Acht nods. His breath will not come to swear the oath that might bring his demise.

 

“Take me over to him,” the man in shadow commands.

 

He sits down hastily, his arms no longer able to hold himself up against the sedan. He must confirm this man's resolve with his own eyes. The driver returns to his side. The squeaks of a wheelchair seem to echo like pained, drawn out cries on the concrete, like the shovel scrapes the coffin inside a tomb.

 

Slowly the pair approaches. Acht still cannot make out their identities. They pass the briefcase, still open on the floor, on the spot where tomorrow construction workers will drill two stories into the crust of the earth to place gigantic steel girders. They are now only a stride away from Acht. The driver's silver hair catches the light.

 

The man in the chair is now directly in front of Acht, so close that Acht cannot take a step without bumping into the frail legs of the monster. Despite the darkness, Acht sees and identifies the man of honor. He immediately forgets ever seeing such a man in such a place on that night. It was far too dark to say who exactly that man was...

 

The unidentifiable man grips the sides of his chair, pushing with all his might to raise himself out of it. The driver does not make an offer to help; for it would be insulting. Struggling, struggling, the dark man pulls himself up, wills his dying legs with the same ruthless authority that has paralyzed so many with fear. He draws himself up, just barely higher than Acht, but a giant in the sights of the spectacled inspector. He places his hands heavily on Acht's shoulders, staring into his eyes.

 

“Will you swear, on everything you hold dear, to accept this undertaking?” he asks.

 

Acht knows he must say yes. There is no going back now. But it cannot be a thing entered into out of fear. Should he respond out of fear, or with any deceitful intention in his tone, easily perceptible to this man whose power reaches far beyond his cloak of shadow, he will also be killed. He must be sincere and firm in his reply.

 

“I swear,” Acht says.

 

And then, in the eyes of the demon staring him down, Acht sees something he would have never expected from one of the most wicked men alive: kindness. It is visible and genuine kindness. There is a bond between the two men now, a trust that must never be broken. The warmth of empathy, sympathy, of all the emotions shared between a friend seem to emanate from the dark man's hands, starting at the shoulders they are placed on, and moving through every depth of the inspector's body.

 

The man leans forward suddenly, hands clasping Acht firmly by the side of his pudgy face, holding himself up by the flabby skin of his cheeks. Instinctively, Acht tries to wriggle away; but before he can, it has been done. The man has kissed him full on the lips, a kiss with no love, no remorse, yet full of emotion. Time seems to freeze; Acht feels the man's lips on his forever.

 

Then the old man pulls back, sitting down heavily in his wheelchair. The driver turns him around and begins to wheel him away. The slight squeaking noise competes with the beating of his heart to be heard in the black night. A chill runs down Acht's spine. The warmth is gone. Now there is only dread.

 

“You will find the rest of your information in the envelope at the bottom of the suitcase,” the man informs him. “It also tells you where you are to drop off your written reports, a mailbox in Metropolis Heights, and who to call if you are ever in need.”

 

The man pulls himself into the sedan. The driver folds up the chair. The hidden man with the machine gun has retreated back into some corner of Hell. The sedan doors close, clunking heavily.

 

The headlights turn, the reverse lights come on. The car is gone.

 

Inspector Acht shivers again in the cold. He picks up the briefcase with shaking hands.

 

-end “Shadows in Darkness”, Part C of Page V in

Sex, Substances, Sin, Salvation

MasamuneEHS@hotmail.com

 

Next: “Superior to even Heero Yuy”

Next part is going to have a lot of action. Explosions, guns, knives. And Stellar Louisser from Gundam Seed Destiny (that crazy psycho bitch).

 

ID Notes:

Inspector Acht is a minor character from Gundam Wing. He is sent by Romafeller to investigate Zechs (wonder why I picked him for this role?) & ensure the destruction of the Wing Gundam that Zechs is trying to rebuild.

 

Captain Murrue Ramius is a major character in Gundam SEED. She is the female commander of the EAF's ArchAngel battleship. She will appear later, so for now just now she's connected to the Zabi investigation into the Order.

 

The driver is a character you already know. Good luck figuring out who = )

 

Yes, that was the “kiss of death”. No, this man is not the same person as the goon from “The Crow” Part G.