Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Some Way Back ❯ Danger unleashed ( Chapter 2 )

Sorry… had to make a few corrections that would have led to a little confusion later in the fic…nothing major and no one will probably notice them because it doesn't really change the content or anything….but I knew they were there hehe

Some Way Back: Danger Unleashed

Duo spent all night in the lab, while the hospital searched for him and his friends worried about him. He frowned as he scrolled through files on his main system. The files over Heero's death were not as well filled out, as he would have expected oh sure they gave all the details and everything but something was lacking. Duo just couldn't quite put a finger on it.

He viewed the information of the mission his lover had been sent on; he viewed the files gathered on the suspects and he frowned. It seemed nothing concrete had been found out…it seemed nothing concrete could be found out. There was something odd about the way all the enquiries had been ended. Almost as if the people they were trying to catch knew about it. They were wary and careful and as far as Duo could tell…not traceable. And just when it seemed the preventers would find out where they were…the trail ended… without a trace.

He read through the files and retried all the methods that Heero had used… occasionally seeing mistakes his lover had made and making notes to correct them the next time he went through everything. ~Ahhh Heero~ his thinking needed to be clinically detatched or he would dwell…so he chose to think about his lover in the only way he could and still keep his thoughts coherent…professionally. ~You were always such a perfectionist, but your training gave you a narrow view of things…you never seemed to take all facets of human nature into consideration. ~ Duo didn't seem to realize that he would never have dreamed of criticizing his lover while he had been alive…he would never have second guessed him. But now…he needed to be better than him… he needed to do what Heero hadn't been able to.

Knee deep in printouts, Duo ran a hand through his bangs and glanced up at the clock.

"Shit" It was already 6am…he badly needed caffeine … and a change of clothes… he hated jeans and the blue colour was far too merry for his mood anyway. Moving over to the kitchenette in the room he set the coffee machine to perculate. Opening the fridge he smiled in relief when he found an unopened carton of long life milk. ~Coffee without milk is like the sun without the moon I swear~ He turned to the cupboard next to the kitchenette and knelt to the bottom shelf where he constantly kept a few changes of clothes, having to steady himself as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

Taking a few moments he decided that he didn't really want to wear his uniform today…he really wasn't in the mood for that…so he picked out one of his customary priestly black ensembles and slowly walked into the bathroom to get changed.

Re-emerging from the bathroom he felt a little refreshed. A splash in the face with some cold water and a change of clothes made had made him feel better… a lot better, and caffeine would seal the feeling.

He poured himself a cup, and sat at the computer to type up a summary of what he had found and a plan of what he intended to do… with or without the help of his piers and superiors. If he had their consent and their help it would be easier, but Duo Maxwell didn't back away from a challenge…and this time would be no exceptiong.

He had an hour…Une would be in by 730 am at the latest, she always was. He would corner her then.

#*#

"Where the hell can he be Trowa?" Quatre was beside himself with worry.

Trowa was at a loss with what to do to calm the smaller boy…and Wufei didn't seem to be much help as he just sat across from them at the breakfast table and scowled.

"Maxwell is being a selfish baka… that is all… we should be used to this behaviour by now." The Chinese boy was not happy and that could be told by the disapproval in his voice.

Trowa sighed…especially since he agreed with Wufei deep down…but also because he could see that Duo had pretty much lost it. As much as the American boy was always chatty and happy and cheery…the silent former pilot of Gundam Heavyarms… was more perceptive than others gave him credit for. He knew Duo had needed what Heero had given him. There was no other outlet for the braided boy… no one else who had gotten under his skin and to know his true personality. "We need to go into work…we can talk with Une then. She wanted us to keep her informed anyway."

Glumly, Quatre nodded. "Yeah you're probably right… let's get going then."

#*#

Duo's eyes hit the clock as he printed out the last pages of his reports: 7.25am. It was a good thing that he could type fast…it had ended up being an analysis of almost 22 pages. He smirked to himself… no one could say he didn't work well when he put his mind to it. And this was important… more important than anything else ever had been to him. If these people could kill Heero…there was no telling what else they may be able to accomplish.

Making his way out of his office and down the hall he set his face in the smirking grin he had worn for the majority of his life… No one could guess if no one could see past the mask. And it was a face he fully intended on carrying until he had completed his mission… he didn't have the time to give into self pity anymore… he had been stupid and selfish enough for long enough. Besides he would have plenty of time to wallow in self-misery later on. The finger of his free hand…his left hand… absently played with the ring on that ring finger as he made his way to Une's office, completely ignoring the surprise on the security's faces as they checked their lists…which said nothing about him being in the building.

Reaching the door he rapped smarlty on it and didn't wait for an "enter" from its occupant. If he had, it wouldn't have been Duo Maxwell now, would it? Smile set on his face, his braid having that life of its own that it always seemed to have, he bounced through the door, arms full of papers.

"Morning Une…how are we today? Me personally… it's a great day to be alive… so much to do, so little time." He lowered himself smoothly into the seat in front of her desk and beamed a smile at her setting the report he had written on her desk and tapping on it. "There are a few things you and I need to discuss Lady."

Lady Une had just been dealing with Trowa's report over the phone as the other 3 Gundam pilots made their way to work. She gulped as Duo came in and had to take a minute to adjust to the boy being there. "Its ok… he is here." She put down the phone and turned her full attention to the boy in front of her. He was pale, but somehow energized…it was obvious something was sustaining him but she couldn't be sure what. However she didn't look a gift horse in the mouth…they needed Duo…they had needed Duo since before Heero's incident… and they needed him at his peak. Hopefully he would be up to what they needed him to do… if he wasn't, then the risks they had taken had been for nothing.

"Nice to see you Duo…"

As usual the American chattered. "Yes it is rather isn't it?" He winked at her. "Now Une I know you don't habitually take appointments at 7.30 in the morning and hell knows that I would prefer to be asleep " Permanently his mind added silently. " But there are things that need to be done and questions that you are going to answer for me…so I suggest we take this time right now… to go over a few things I am not happy with."

Une blinked. She was sure this was Duo. He looked like Duo, he even almost sounded like Duo, except for that authoritive tone to his voice. His smile was there but for the first time ever…she couldn't see that it reached his eyes. They were lit by something else, and she was almost certain it was anger and hatred. She shivered…and was glad that she was fairly certain that that gaze was not meant for her. It seemed Duo was full of surprises she had never though him capable of…they were going to have to be careful.

Recovering fairly quickly her examination of him did not escape the violet-eyed boys notice and he laughed to himself. ~I will get what needs to be done done…no matter what.~

"So Duo… what are the questions you want to ask…and what are you not happy with." Her gaze was trying to be authoritive, but Duo was quite certain that she was somewhat uncertain about his appearance here. Good.

"Well for a start…I need to know why you Okayed a mission where the information was not even at a standard that would usually allow for us to send in a group of our men let alone one." He saw her start to speak and silenced her by talking over the top of her, not a hard feat for the young American. "Then I want to know why even after you had…" He looked at his notes…"4 other people trace over Heero's investigations and come up with the same answers, those being virtually none… why you still sent him out." He was controlling himself very well…his brain pushing back the pain he felt every time he uttered that name…there would be time for grief after all of this. Finger-tips twisting the rings around his fingers he continued. "And then I want to know how the hell these people seem to know every move we make…where we are…and who is coming. There is no way ordinary people would ever have gotten close to him. And there are other cases of our agents going down…all pointing towards this suspect group that you haven't even come up with a name for yet." He slowed…looking her directly in the eyes. "That's enough for a start… I want answers Une…and trust me… I will either know if you lie to me… or I will find out." And he said the whole thing with a happy go lucky smile on his face…but without a twinkle in his eye. Anyone who didn't know him well, and that was almost everyone…would have been fooled into thinking he was talking amiably…Une knew otherwise…the threat he made was not empty.

She cleared her throat and was about to speak when Duo piped up again.

"Oh yeah," He smiled. "By the way the infiltration security is fucked… I have never been able to get into a building so easily. Whoever was relieving me is pathetic and either needs to be retrained or fired. But I have a computer program working out some basics at the moment and it should be ready for you to look through in a few hours. A lot needs to change… reports need to be monitored…these leaks need to be stopped. Now I think you were going to say something…continue." He waved a hand…the other still playing with the ring on that one. Trying not to fidget, since he knew it would detract from his countenance he concentrated fully on her face, if she lied… he would know.

Une shifted under that gaze. "Oh … thanks… I will look through the report straight away." She sighed a little…and pushed at the glasses sitting on her nose. Duo just waited. "We … we needed to bait them… and Heero offered. He was so certain that he wouldn't get hurt. I mean he is one of the best, if not the best…he was just supposed to be observing." She was skirting the truth and she knew that she was treading a thin line…but she hadn't actually lied.

Duo frowned at her for two reasons… first of all that Heero had been bait was something he didn't like. And secondly he knew that Une wasn't telling him everything, though he also knew that she had not been lying. But that was ok, he would find it all out in due time…and he planned on making it his priority in life to do so.

He nodded and Une briefly looked at the hands he had folded under his chin…his thumbs obviously turning the rings on his fingers. Funny, she had never noticed him wearing any jewelry before. Looking closer she noticed the rings were identical…and she blanched as she remembered the box Heero had showed her that morning, before he was sent out. She took a deep breath.

"The mission that he went on that day…was not the mission he woke up knowing he would go on Duo…he wasn't supposed to go on that mission for another week. But things happened and we needed him to."

Duo didn't let anything register on his face, but inside he screamed. So Heero was supposed to be there for his birthday dinner and not leave him in mourning. He fought to maintain his smiling façade and he succeeded, pushing the misery he felt to the back of his mind again.

"Do carry on Une…come on… don't keep me in suspense here." He grinned because he either had to grin or he was going to scream out loud. Screaming out loud right now was not going to further his cause in any way shape or form and he knew this.

He wasn't going to stop…he wasn't going to turn into the usual Duo and bounce around and be unconcentrated. Une frowned again. He was determined to do something and she had no idea what it was. All she could do was hope that it fit into her carefully laid plans.

"On that morning we received information. Information pertaining to the group we had as suspects. I know that sounds stupid considering we don't even have a name for them at the moment, but…"

Duo interrupted. "Then you all suck more than I thought." He gestured to the report he had placed on the table. "Its in there… and took me all of four hours to find out last night…I am surprised he didn't think of it himself…he isn't usually that sloppy." She looked stunned, so he carried on giving her a little time to recover. "Geheimdienst." That's what they call themselves. That's how they are known. Its German for Secret service or something very similar, probably allowing for cultural idiosyncrasies. They are known more widely as GHD. GHD is one of the self proclaimed `peace enforcers', that have emerged since the wars. You probably have only heard of them in a commercial sense, which is probably why connections weren't made." He shrugged. "Probably easier to find out now, since if you look in the right places they are laying claim to having killed the "perfect soldier". But it shouldn't have been that hard to find before if you looked properly."

Mentally filing GHD in her mind Une got over her shock. "Oh well…they were on our list of suspects. But as I was saying we heard word that they would be at a certain place at a certain time and so Heero went, to be the bait he had volunteered to be." Duo's already pale skin had paled more…but his eyes were still hard and his smile still on his face.

And his mind was working over time. Something was missing… there was a missing piece…they had to know about Heero…in order to get to him they needed to know inside information. There was no way possible that he could have been killed otherwise…his skills had increased, not decreased…and there was no way that anything normal could have taken him out. His attention turned back to Une as she continued to speak.

"As to how these people seem to know every move we make Duo…how did you come to that conclusion?" She really seemed to be out of the loop, though Duo knew she wasn't stupid he couldn't believe she could be that blind.

He snorted. "You cant tell me that you believe the perfect soldier got taken out by a bunch of amateurs. They know us… if they didn't know us… or at least him, how could they feed information to us." He stood up, impatience taking over. "I do not have time for this Une…" He leant over the desk knuckles cracking on the hard wood as he brought his face close to hers and spoke softly… the smile completely gone leaving only the cold harsh pain and anger in his eyes. She blanched at his voice. "This is my case Une…I will catch them and if you don't give me the leeway I need to do this… I will do it anyway. You know I have money… you know I can get the equipment I need if you don't let me use the stuff that is here…and you know I can hack into any computer system ever made…at least as well, if not better than Yuy. That is my job after all…I am the expert at infiltration. There is no system I cannot hack. I will find out who did this to him and then I will kill every last one of them…I do not care if you back me on this…but I warn you… do not get in my way."

Une Gulped.

A noise caused him to turn around, and he saw his three friends standing in the doorway looking at him apprehensively; they had obviously heard what he had said.

Smile plastered back in place he greeted them, completely ignoring the woman behind him who was trying to regain her composure. Not many people saw Duo the way Duo was without his mask. The only one who knew him was Heero… the only one who would ever know him was dead.

"Hey Cat…T… Wu-man…" He winked at them. " Sorry if you were worried about me, but hey you know me… can't keep me in an enclosed space for long. It was so boring in there I just had to get out…but it would have taken ages if I had to do the paperwork… I have enough of that to do at the moment as it is." He saw Sally emerge to stand behind his friends. "Hey there Po… how goes it?" A big grin plastered his face and Quatre recovered first.

The young blonde smiled. "Nice to see you back to your old self Duo…you back to stay?"

Smiling, Duo looked at the smaller boy with genuine affection. Aside from Heero, Cat knew him best. "Yo… that I am. Oh yeah hope you heard that Po." He winked and looked back at Une who had now recovered sufficiently. He tapped the report on her desk and his smile widened. "Might want to read through this Une…Its got all the basic information on that group I was talking about as well as the few "coincidences" of their involvement that I have found so far. Wasn't easy to do mind you…and I have plenty of copies where that came from." He took a breath… he hadn't talked this much in weeks and was getting a dry mouth from it…it didn't matter he would get used to it again soon.

"Oh and I'll need my guys… so I suggest you don't assign them to anything else." He turned back and started to leave the room, motioning his friends out in front of him speaking over her shoulder. "Oh and it was nice to have that little chat, must do it again some time…I know I wont forget it."

#*#

Sally frowned as the longhaired boy brushed past her…and turned to look at the director of the preventers. She didn't think she had ever seen Une look that …deflated was the word.

Entering the room, she closed the door behind her. "What happened Une?"

"He… he is doing everything we needed him to do… he is pushing past the barriers he created so he wouldn't compete against Heero and letting his true potential out. It is… formidable." Une still looked shocked and worried.

Sally shrugged. "If that's the case Une, isn't this all going to work out according to plan? I mean we need him… he is the only one with any hope of cracking this. If he doesn't get over the barriers he built we don't stand a chance against them."

Une interrupted her, and Sally stopped short…worried by the tinge of panic she heard in the voice. "You don't get it Sal. He is dangerous. That smiley face, that bouncy Duo we all know and love…he isn't the same… he is changed."

"Of course he is Une. He just lost the love of his life…but he'll get over it. I am…"

"How can you be sure? It is his driving force now… it is all he wants to do… and he will kill anyone who gets in his way. That isn't just an idle threat… he means every word. I don't even think its safe to ask him to report…I am just going to have to hope he does it of his own free will."

Sally raised an eyebrow…"Just what did he say Une…"

"He just warned me not to get in his way… but the way he said it Sally… I don't like what we've unleashed."

Looking thoughtful Sally sat on the edge of the desk. "Its ok…I am sure he just needs to get this out of his system."

"I hope you are right Sally, I hope you are right… because if he ever finds out what we did to Heero, I think he is going to kill every one of us that was involved."

Not letting on, Sally sat in silence…worried that Une was right… he would kill them if he found out. A thought struck her. "Its not a question of if Une." Her voice was barely audible. "He doesn't have any limits anymore… he will find out."

#*#

Quatre chattered most of the way back to Duo's systems room, and Duo fixed a smile on his face as he watched the rainfall outside…trying not to think of things that the rain reminded him of. There was no time for that now. Reaching the room he activated their entrance with new codes he had programmed before he left. Glancing at the clock he realized he had been with Une for longer than anticipated. It was now almost 9.30am. Shrugging he pulled a chair up to one of his computers and ran his eyes over the completed diagnostic he had had the machine perform. With his left hand he leant over to the keyboard next to him and printed out the background information he had given to Une…three times.

The others were waiting for him…as he also printed out the diagnostic of the security system weaknesses. He picked up a phone as the 34 page report finished and summoned one of the preventer couriers to his room.

Turning around he also picked up the now finished reports and began to divide them to give to his friends. Shuffling them in his hands he finally raised his eyes to his friends, ready to answer their questions.

The look on all three faces asked him the same question.

What are we doing?

He smiled…almost genuinely. These guys were his chosen family…these were the people that next to Heero, had always understood him the most…these were the other people he had to live for…at least for now.

"Well I guess you're all wondering what it is we are going to be doing."

"Damn right Maxwell." Wufei seemed to be the least impressed, while Trowa was simply being silent and stoic as usual…painfully it kind of reminded Duo of his deceased partner, but he pushed that thought away almost as soon as he had it. Quatre just looked at him, face expectant and full of trust. Duo was so glad to have them at that point in time.

"Well you see… I have been going over a lot of information…all last night actually…and it seems there are a few…inexplicables that I don't like surrounding the death of 01." It was easier if he referred to him like that… the pain wasn't so great if he didn't actually say the name. "In these reports…" he continued to speak as he handed them out. " I have outlined the chief suspects and narrowed it down to one, including reasons; movements, motives and well you know… the general report stuff. It is a very preliminary report to say the least, but I needed to start somewhere. I need to get this researched in detail and I need the best people there are to do that…and apart from the fact that we are the best… I need to have my friends with me. No one else understands me as well as you guys do." He smiled a little at them. "Please read through them and form your own opinions… you may have fresh ideas that I haven't thought about. If you do please tell me… if there is another way I could have gone about something to gather more data then try it out and see how we go. If you don't want to help I do not hold it against you and you do have the choice…but I would appreciate any help you would be willing to give." He finished and looked at them expectantly.

"Um Duo…" Quatre piped up.

"Yeah?"

"What exactly are we doing?"

"Oh… how silly of me." He looked at his friends abashedly. But then his expression changed and that smile that didn't reach his eyes came forth once more. "We are going to find the sons of bitches who killed Heero, and tear them limb from limb while we pull down everything they have fought and killed to achieve."

The cold smiles that hit the faces of his friends made Duo realize that he had the help he craved and sorely needed.

~~**~~

TO be continued