Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami's Lover III ❯ Parts ( Chapter 4 )

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

Kracken

Disclaimer:I don't own them and I don't make any money off of this
Warnings:Male/male sex, graphic, violence, language, past NCS

Shinigami's Lover III
Sequel to tell Me

Parts


"Well?"

"Well what?" Duo wondered looking at his partner sourly.

Kit sighed in exasperation as she checked her gun and then put it back in her shoulder holster. "You've only been staring at your lap for the past fifteen minutes. I thought, maybe, you'd like to share."

Duo grunted and looked around them at the seedy neighborhood. Crime scene tape fluttered from the front steps of the dilapidated house that Kit had parked the car in front of. "So, have we been here long?"

"Long enough for you to start giving me the creeps, Duo," Kit replied in concern. "That's why I'm asking, before we go in there and do our jobs, if your head is on straight?"

Duo looked at his partner, a very petite woman with a face that was usually full of good humor. Now her expression was anything but humorous. "Sorry," he said in embarrassment. "I'm worried about Heero. I didn't feel very good about leaving him. He- He wasn't a good boy the other day. He sent the housekeeper away."

"Damn!" Kit breathed explosively, knowing all about Heero's problems. "Anything happen?"

"Nothing that ended up on the front page of the paper, but it scared me," Duo admitted. He ran a hand through his bangs and then straightened his uniform tie irritably. "He seems fine, but, once in awhile, it's like he's not there, like he's another person, someone who can't think, can't remember... It's not for long, but if a situation came up and he- he was like that..."

Kit went thoughtful and then she glanced at the house and then at Duo. Coming to a decision, she said, "Look, if this is a problem, and you think you need more time at home, why don't you high tail it there and I'll take care of this?"

"Because of the way it makes Heero feel," Duo sighed as he checked his own weapon. "He needs more self confidence. If I stay and hover, he'll never believe in himself."

"How can he believe in himself when you don't?" Kit wondered archly.

Duo frowned sharply. "I...."

"Think about it," Kit told him as she opened her car door, "but not here. We gotta job to do, right?"

"Right," Duo agreed. He tried to put his personal problems aside and concentrate on his job as he opened his own door and slid out.

They approached the house, passing an officer ducking under the tape and engrossed in a piece of recording equipment. A guard stood at the front door and eyed them. "Preventers?" he said in surprise. "How does this case rate that kind of attention?"

"Ours is not to question why...," Kit quipped. "We just go where we're told."

Duo and Kit showed their I.D. They were a strange pair. Duo was taller than his companion. He was wiry, had unusual amethyst eyes, a braid that was longer than a meter, and he had an air of someone with far more experience than someone his age should have had. Kit was a slim, little, woman with fiery eyes and a personality that was charged and fearless. Duo was sure that they didn't match the image of highly trained, professional Preventers that the guard at the door probably had. His guess was confirmed when the guard took his time going over their I.D.s and seemed surprised to find them both in order.

"Okay, you're cleared," the man said at last, but then warned, "Watch your step. It's damned messy in there."

That made Duo glance at his partner. They were both new to the field, and Kit hadn't seen combat during the war. Duo himself was hardened to more gruesome modes of death. Kit saw his look and her expression turned angry.

"Don't worry," Kit told him sarcastically. "I didn't eat breakfast, so you won't have to worry about me puking on your shoes."

"Sorry," Duo said apologetically.

Kit replied in a lecturing tone as they went through the door, "We're still learning each other's limits and we can't make assumptions about- shit!" Kit exploded and went green.

Duo stared at the mess on the floor all around them, and at the splatter on the walls, and at the bodies that were being poked at by forensics... body parts, Duo amended to himself. The sight and smell of death was familiar to him, but he still felt his gut clench and his mind cower. Death, no matter how many times he saw it or caused it, was never really easy and Duo was glad of that. He would have hated to be the type of person who felt nothing when confronted by something as horrific as the scene before him.

"You talk to the officer who discovered all of this," Duo began to say, "and I'll talk to-" He paused when he turned and found Kit gone and then heard the sound of someone being very sick.

Later, after the investigation was done and they were driving back to headquarters, Kit recovered, but she looked very embarrassed and, after the fifth apology, Duo growled, "I threw up on my first day of work, too, and I wasn't even faced with body parts, Kit, so get over it and tell me what you think about the crime scene!"

Kit was startled and then she chuckled, though it didn't have much humor in it. "Oh, yeah, I remember, you tossed your cookies on Grange's shoes."

"So, we're even," Duo retorted. He could easily forgive Kit becoming ill, but he was finding it harder to like her sudden case of low self esteem. He had enough on his mind worrying about Heero. He didn't need to nurse Kit through case jitters as well.

Kit seemed to sense Duo's irritation and she made a concerted effort to pull herself together. She had never been a soldier, but she, in effect, pushed her emotions aside and went into 'mission mode'. "Well, "she began, speaking calmly and logically, "It seemed to me that our murderer really didn't like the victims. That's understandable. They were pimps and drug dealers with considerable rap sheets. Their M.O. was to bring people into the fold, use them, abuse them, and then quietly put them out of their misery. Nothing proven, of course, but investigators almost had enough circumstantial evidence to put them away for a long, long time."

"They were slated to be arrested today," Duo told her and she frowned at that information. "The arresting officers were the ones to find them."

Kit jumped on that. "So, maybe someone knew that and wanted to do some vigilantism before they were put out of reach?"

"Could be," Duo replied thoughtfully as he turned the car down a side street and took a short cut. He was eager to get back to the station and talk to Heero on the phone. It was a temptation to use his cell phone, but he refrained. What he wanted to say to Heero was too personal for even his partner to overhear.

"How would the murderer know?" Kit wondered and then followed that train of thought herself, "From dispatch maybe? Records? Someone who handled the order... Hmm, guess it could have been a lot of people leaking that kind of information." She frowned and then shook her head, 'Kind of farfetched, don't you think? Isn't it more likely that it was just a simple gang hit?"

"He used a gun that's standard issue for police officers," Duo told her.

Kit blinked. "How do you know that... and why do you keep saying 'he'? All of that mayhem back there was surely done by more than one guy?"

"All of the bullet holes were in vital organs and in similar spots," Duo explained. "It was clear that one, very skilled man did all of the shooting. It was also clear, from the bullet holes, what type of weapon he was using."

"You're that sure?" Kit wondered, skeptical.

Duo nodded once. It was easy for her to forget his experience and the extensive training that he had gone through to be a Gundam pilot. He supposed that he didn't blame her. He was still very young and she wasn't going to forget his first faltering steps during Preventer training. Back then, she had taken him under her wing and she was still, Duo thought sourly, trying to keep him there and assert herself as the leader of their partnership. Her going green at the murder scene had been a serious set back in that goal and she wasn't letting it go easily. Duo hoped that she wouldn't go out of her way to redeem herself. She had a reputation for taking chances as well as being hot headed.

"So?" Kit prompted.

Duo glanced at her as he pulled out of the slum and into a better part of town. "So?" he echoed.

"Mind on the case," Kit grumbled. "You're wool gathering."

Duo shrugged. "We need to wait for a proper forensic report, but I'm confident enough about our observations that we should start rounding up likely suspects and witnesses to interview."

"We?" Kit looked angry at herself again and Duo was getting tired of her self flagellation. "I don't think I helped much during the investigation at the house."

"But you did add so nicely to the decor," Duo joked, thinking to shock her enough to stir her from her critical assessment of her own performance.

"Ha, ha!" Kit snapped back, glared, and then chuckled. "Okay, enough... it was stupid. I lost my cookies, end of story. I'll get over myself now, okay?"

Duo relaxed and smiled. "Okay." He gestured to the computer set in the dashboard of the car. "Punch in that list of people that the nice officers gave us and find out where they and their families live. Try and make a pattern we can work with."

Kit looked at the scribbled list of names on the report the on site officers had given her. "What? You don't think this list is legit?"

Duo shrugged. "I don't know, but I did think that those officers weren't happy that the case was being given to the Preventers. I won't say that they could have shorted us on information out of spite, but nothing wrong with double checking."

Kit agreed and began entering her information on the small keyboard. Duo swerved quickly around two cars moving slowly. Kit looked up as she braced herself. "Duo! Heero isn't going to wither away like a neglected house plant if you don't call him every hour!"

Duo forced himself to slow down, but he couldn't wait any longer, especially when traffic bottle-necked up ahead of their car and he was forced to a halt. He took out his cell phone, glanced apologetically at Kit, and found her smirking.

"I won't say anything, okay?" Kit assured him. "Call him, say all your lovey dovey things to him, and then you can get yourself back on this case."

Duo relaxed and smiled, tension and irritation easing. 'Thanks," he replied gratefully and pushed the speed dial button that was set for his home phone number.

"Hello?"

Heero's voice was a welcome one and Duo couldn't help a small sigh of relief. He kept his tone calm, nonchalant. "Just calling to ask if I should stop and pick up something for dinner?"

Heero sounded despondent. "Maybe you should do that."

"Something wrong?" Duo asked, anxious now.

Heero sighed and Duo could almost imagine him running a hand distractedly through his unruly hair. "I burned my lunch. I forgot I was cooking it. Maybe I shouldn't attempt to cook dinner tonight..."

"Everyone gets distracted Heero," Duo soothed. "I forget things too, you know."

There was a long silence.

"Heero?" Duo prompted.

"Why do you bother saying things like that?" Heero asked sharply. "You know why I forgot. "

"Heero," Duo countered, "You're doing the mental equivalent of jumping at shadows. Tell me, what were you doing while you were cooking your lunch?"

"Raking leaves," Heero replied slowly.

"There you go!" Duo retorted. "You always did get totally centered on your 'missions'. Why should raking leaves be any different?"

Another long silence and then Heero replied at last. "I suppose you're right. I'm sorry. Harri was upstairs cleaning and I didn't know that the food was burning until the smell reached the backyard."

Duo wanted to say, 'Leave everything to Harri before you hurt yourself.' but he knew better than that. Heero had to learn to trust himself and, remembering Kit's criticism that he wasn't helping by not trusting Heero, he determined to let Heero do as much as he thought that he was capable of... as long as Harri was nearby to help if he needed it. "I've changed my mind. I think you should make dinner," Duo suggested firmly. "Maybe some pasta. I think I've been eating too much fast food anyway."

Heero's voice sounded warm as he replied, "Duo... I guess I shouldn't have let it upset me like that.... okay, I'll cook something. Does spaghetti sauce sound all right to you?"

"Sounds great," Duo told him and then tried to ignore Kit in the seat next to him as he said in a low voice, "Love you, baby."

"Love you, too," Heero replied tenderly. "I'll see you tonight."

Duo hung up the phone reluctantly, holding it against his breast thoughtfully as he drove one handed. Kit finally made a disgusted noise. Duo glanced sideways at her and saw her amused expression. "What?" Duo demanded.

"You look like you want to go home and wrap the guy in cotton balls," Kit chuckled.

"He needs me," Duo replied and she could see the thoughts behind those words.

"I know where this is going!" Kit complained. "You can't do this, Duo. It's not going to help him having you holding his hand twenty four seven."

"I thought being by himself, with just Harri to keep an eye on him, would work, but he's not getting any more confident," Duo replied hotly. "He needs me to be there to encourage him, to show him that he hasn't forgotten everything important to him."

"Staying at home isn't helping him, Duo," Kit told him critically. "You once told me how you felt being at home and believing that you couldn't do what you loved. Would it have helped you to have Heero at home, reassuring you, or would you have just thought that he was humoring you, trying to make you feel better about the fact that what you wanted most was never going to be yours? The only way that Heero is going to believe that he isn't damaged beyond repair, is to put him back on the horse, put him back to work."

Duo frowned skeptically. "Sally won't stand for that and the doctor won't clear him for duty," Duo pointed out.

"As an agent," Kit corrected him. "I'm sure any department would be happy to have Heero helping them in any capacity."

Duo almost said, 'and if he can't do any of that?' but he knew that was the doubt that Kit had seen in him earlier, a doubt that he hadn't know he was holding deep inside. He did doubt that Heero was capable. He was afraid that Heero would get hurt, mentally and physically, if he tried to go back to work or tried to stay home completely alone. Duo knew that he had to get over that. Heero had been willing to take a leap of faith when he, Duo, had decided to join the Preventers, Duo knew that he had to be willing to do the same. Heero might not be able to do more than filing, but they wouldn't know until he tried. Even that would be better than the alternative, Duo thought, remembering his own long stay at home, alone, and doubting his worth.

"Is he all right physically?" Kit wondered.

"Headaches once in awhile," Duo replied. "Some dizziness early on, but he hasn't complained of anything more serious.... though Heero wouldn't," he amended.

"Sally might okay him with a doctor say so," Kit said.

"I don't know..." Duo replied, skeptically. "If he can't be an agent, I'm not sure that Heero will be interested."

"Make him interested," Kit retorted. "If you were going to try and convince him that he isn't too handicapped to lead a good life, then you can sure as hell convince him to go back to work, even if it isn't the job he wants."

"I'm not used to this," Duo sighed in frustration. "Heero's always..." Duo felt a blush of embarrassment, but he plowed on and finished, "He's always been the one to shoulder everything and take care of me and my problems. Now... shit, I don't know what's best for me, let alone what's best for Heero. I guess I'm afraid of screwing up, of forcing him before he's ready or leaving things go until it's too late. I just know... Heero can't keep doubting himself like this. He sounded timid on the phone, like he had lost all confidence in himself. That isn't Heero. I won't let him end up that way."

"I don't either," Kit said pensively. "He's like a damned legend and he was the best Preventer agent."

"Still is," Duo retorted. He glanced at her and saw her nod of agreement. It made him feel better, though he was still tied in knots about what to do about his lover. Keeping him at home and watched carefully had seemed like the best strategy, but he was now severely doubting it. The first thing, he thought, was to talk to Sally Po, and see if it was possible for Heero to return, before even bringing up the idea to the man. Heero didn't need to know about it if she decided against it. Heero didn't need that kind of rejection on top of everything else.

As Duo thought, his eyes constantly swept over the street, his rear view mirror, and the sidewalks, the old reflex of a soldier causing him to check the status of his surroundings despite the turmoil of his thoughts. That reflex was looking for something out of the ordinary, something that might mean danger. That was how he was able to spot the young man being sandwiched between five other young men and hustled towards an alley. They looked like a gang on business, their expressions both serious and nervous, and it was obvious, by the way they gripped their captives arms and pulled him along, that he was reluctant to go with them.

Duo's hand went to his gun and his knife, checking weapons automatically as he said, "Trouble. Call it in."

"Huh?" Kit grunted in surprise as Duo pulled up to a curb. "What kind of trouble?"

"Gang," Duo replied.

Kit's eyes swept the street and she saw the young men. She understood the situation instantly. There wasn't a suggestion that they call the local police and let them handle it. Kit and Duo could both see that there wasn't time. If the group of young men reached the alley with their captive, it was likely that they would do whatever they intended long before any other help could arrive on scene.

Kit called into headquarters and then she checked her own weapon.

"Ready?" Duo asked impatiently.

"Ready," Kit replied with fierce excitement sparking her eyes. "Let's break this party up, partner."