Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Purrfect Houseguest ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

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The Purrfect Houseguest

Part 5

Zechs woke up disoriented. When his senses started to return he could hear the sound of an engine, then he realized that the ground he was laying on was moving. Curiously he opened first one then both eyes and found that the ceiling above him was made of heavy, grey canvas, thick enough to shut out any light.

Slowly his memory started to return. His eyes narrowed as he recalled what had happened to him. He had been running from his pursuers, fighting fatigue and drowsiness. He remembered finding a truck that was loaded with containers and covered with tarp. Somehow he had managed to climb onto the vehicle and hide between the containers before he collapsed. After that everything went black. He must have passed out, and could only speculate about what had happened since.
For some reason his pursuers didn't find him, and while he was sleeping off the effects of the tranquilizer dart the truck he was hiding on had been moved from the parking lot. The neko had no idea for how long he had been sleeping, or where the truck was going, but he knew that he needed to get off the vehicle before it reached its destination.

But at least for the moment he was safe. Zechs allowed himself to relax somewhat. He rose to his knees and crawled to the very back of the truck. Pushing aside the canvas he peeked out carefully. It was still dark, but a few golden streaks painted across the sky indicated the approaching sunrise. He gazed around. There was no other vehicle in sight. It looked like they were driving along some isolated mountain road.

Shivering in the cold night air, the neko dropped the tarp and inched back to his hiding place to consider his situation and what to do next. He really only had two options. Either he could take a risk and jump from the truck while it was moving, or he could wait for it to stop somewhere. But that too had its risk, since there was no saying when and where the vehicle was going to stop next.

As Zechs glanced around he noticed a few metal objects in the very corner of the truck bed. Tools, he thought with a satisfied nod.  I could try to open one of these metal crates and see what's inside. Maybe I'll find something useful.

###

Alfredo Costano yawned. His right hand left the steering wheel to rub his eyes. He hated to have to get up in the middle of the night, but he liked driving in the early morning hours when barely anybody else was on the road.

"Want some coffee?" His friend and colleague asked.

Alfredo opened his mouth to answer when a noise in the back of their truck cut him off.  He frowned and exchanged a look with the man on the seat beside him. "What was that?"

"Sounds like one of the containers might have gotten loose. Pull over," Pat Callahan suggested. "I'll go and check it out."

As the driver brought the truck to a stop on the side of the road, Pat reached for the flashlight beneath his seat and climbed out of the cockpit. He walked around the vehicle and started to undo the leather buckles that held together the tarp covering. When he was about half-way done, he heard another noise; more quiet this time, more like a scraping sound. The men hesitated for a moment before opening the last clasps. He pushed aside the canvas and froze. From inside the truck something was staring back at him. In the glow of his flashlight he could clearly see the outlines of a tall, slender being, a pair of pointed, furry ears, silvery hair and glowing eyes.

Pat let out a yelp and dropped his flashlight as the creature suddenly moved toward him. He threw up his arms to defend himself, sure that he was going to be attacked. The creature however never even touched him as it jumped off the truck and dashed passed him. With shaking knees the man ran back to the cockpit.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Don't ask, just drive…drive!" Pat yelled at his colleague before he had even closed the door.

Alfredo stepped onto the gas pedal. "What's wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost?"

"A ghost?" the other man shook his head. "I don't think so." He carefully peeked at the rearview mirror and gave a sigh of relief when he saw that nothing was following them. "Alfredo…do you believe…do you think there really is such thing as werewolves?"

"What?" His friend gave him a surprised look. "Are you drunk or something?"

#####

Wufei was sitting on the couch, watching the evening news when Treize walked into the living room. The tawny-haired man let out a sigh of relief. "She is finally asleep."

Mariemaia had been so excited about their upcoming weekend trip, that it had been hard to get her to calm down that evening. It wasn't until her father had threatened to scrap the whole trip if she kept making excuses to get out of bed that she had finally settled down and gone to sleep.

"Did you see this?" Wufei nodded toward the TV, where a reporter was just updating the viewers on a case of double murder they had been reporting about earlier.

Treize nodded. He had been watching TV when the story first broke. Apparently some jogger had found what looked like an abandoned truck near an old landfill, and after closer inspection discovered the bodies of two men inside the vehicle. The police had only confirmed that both men had been shot in the back of the head, execution style. It was nothing he hadn't heard before.
"Yes, I have heard about it, why?" he asked as he settled down on the couch next to his lover.

"That truck the bodies were found in," Wufei said. "It belongs to Gentec a biotech research group."

"Yes?!"

"I spent most of the day today in one of there labs."

The tawny-haired man gave him a questioning look.

"You remember Dr Po calling yesterday and asking me to come in early this morning?"

Treize nodded. Of course he remembered.

"Well, it turned out that internal affairs asked us to help them in an investigation against Gentec. Professor Noventa sent Dr. Po and me along when the OII raided one of their laboratories."

"What are you trying to say? Do you think those murders and the investigation have anything to do with each other?"

"I don't know," Wufei shrugged. "But there was something very odd about that place."

Treize frowned. "Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked. Wufei usually didn't talk much about his job. He didn't like to "bring his work home", as he said.

"Well, for one, the employees seemed a little too eager and helpful, considering that they had just learned that they were accused of doing illegal research," the younger man explained.

"And did you find any evidence to support those accusations?"

Wufei shook his head. "No, but that's what even more odd. There was nothing; absolutely nothing. From what I have seen you couldn't even fault them for the slightest health code violation. But the oddest thing was that in some of the labs we found computers that seemed to have been cleaned out; as though somebody had wiped the entire hard drive just recently. When asked, one of the doctors explained that that was exactly what had happened. A new assistant had accidentally infected the system with a virus a few days earlier, that crashed a number of computers before it could be stopped. Supposedly the woman, her name was Noin I believe, had been fired on the spot. He suggested that she might have gone to the OII and made those accusations against Gentec as an act of revenge."

"That sounds plausible, don't it?" Treize said.

"It does," Wufei agreed. "However, wouldn't you think that, if things really happened as Dr. Tubarov said, Gentec would be more than happy to get their lost data back? But when one of OII's computer specialists offered to retrieve any data he could, the atmosphere turned suddenly from friendly and helpful to almost hostile. A short time later some of Romefeller's layers showed up, and produced some kind of papers that ended the search right then and there."

For a split second Treize's eyes narrowed. "Did you say Romefeller?"

"Yes. They are funding Gentec's work. Why?"

"No reason," Treize made a dismissive gesture. "However, I think you are worrying too much. Let internal affairs deal with Gentec and Romefeller. After all, that's what they are being paid for, is it not?"

"I guess," Wufei admitted. He turned sideways and leaned back until he was resting comfortably against the older man's chest. His lover's right arm snaked around his waist pulling him even closer. "It's just…Sally told me…"

"Sally?" Treize raised one eyebrow in question.

"Dr Po," the younger man corrected himself.

"I had no idea that the two of you are on a first name basis."

Wufei huffed. "Are you jealous?"

The tawny haired man dipped his head, placing the ghost of a kiss on the back of his lover's neck before whispering. "Should I be?"

"Should I be jealous of all those women drooling over you when you are at a book signing?" Wufei shot back.

Treize gave a deep, bubbling chuckle. "That's different. They are just crazy fans, you can't take those serious. Dr Po on the other hand is a young, intelligent and good-looking woman…"

"Hey!" Wufei got hold of one of the pillows beside him and smacked the older man over the head. "You must know her rather well to make such assessments."

Treize gave another burst of laughter as he grabbed his lover's wrists. He flipped the young man onto his back and pinned him down. Wufei struggled halfheartedly, but his struggles ceased immediately when the older man dipped his head, and covered his mouth in a kiss. His lover's tongue traced his lips gentle, begging for entrance. When Wufei parted them slightly in compliance, a tongue slipped between them, plundering the hot cavern of his mouth.

When their lips parted Treize placed a trail of kisses along the young man's chin. Wufei groaned and closed his eyes with a content sigh, as he raised his chin, giving the tawny haired man better access. Treize released the young man's wrists. He nibbled and kissed his way down Wufei's neck, raising delicate little bruises on the sensitive flesh. At the same time his right hand slipped beneath his lover's shirt, his fingertips teasing the hot, silky skin.

"No!"

The tawny-haired man pushed himself up on his hands and knees and looked at Wufei in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "What's wrong?"

"We shouldn't..." Wufei panted. "Not here. Let's go into the bedroom."

"Right!" Treize gave him a somewhat sheepish grin. "Marie might wake up."

The young man nodded. The last thing he wanted was for the girl to walk in on her father and him. He had been embarrassed enough that time when she found him in Treize's bed, not long after he had moved in.

:::: Begin Flashback :::

"Papa!"

Wufei rose from his sleep, startled and disoriented. How did he get into Treize's bed? Then he remembered. His shoulders had been bothering him, and Treize had offered to give him a massage. Under the man's skillful hands he must have fallen asleep.
Apparently so did Treize, because he seemed just as drowsy, as he looked at his daughter, standing in the door to his bedroom. "Marie, what's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare. Can I sleep in your bed?"

"Of course, Honey."

As Mariemaia stepped closer she finally noticed Wufei, who at that moment wished that the earth would open up and swallow him on the spot.
Marie looked at her father than back him, and with the innocence of an eight year old asked: "Uncle Wufei, did you have a nightmare too?"

Wufei flushed, as he slipped out of bed and reached for his shirt on the floor. "Well… yes…I…I feel a lot better though. I'll go back to my own bed now."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure," Wufei assured her as he fled the room. "Good night!"

"Good night, Uncle Wufei."

::: End Flashback :::

#####

Zechs leaned against a cedar tree, closing his eyes in exhaustion. Through his thin shirt he could feel the rough bark. His left ankle was swollen and sore. Somehow he must have twisted it when he jumped off the truck earlier in the morning.
So much for the myth about nekos never getting hurt, because they always land on their feet, he thought with a tinge of biting sarcasm.

In spite of his injured leg Zechs had been on the move most of the day. He had no idea where he was, aside from the fact that it was somewhere in a rather desolate mountain area.  At the foot of the mountain he had seen something that looked like a small town, but other than that he had only come across a handful of isolated houses.

Common sense dictated for him to stay as far away from humans as possible. But on the other hand, where there were humans, there was probably also some food.
He had not eaten anything for more than 24 hours, and by now he was starving. During the day it had been comfortably warm, but as soon as the sun set the temperature had dipped drastically. Zechs decided that right now his first priority was to find food and shelter.

Nekos were known for their survival instincts, but how was he supposed to survive in a world that was totally foreign to him. Up to now he had spent his entire life behind the walls of research facilities and laboratories. The world beyond those walls was something he knew only from videos and TV.

Zechs sighed, as he pushed away from the tree. He couldn't rest yet. First he needed to find a place to spend the night, preferable a place where he was at least somewhat sheltered from the elements.

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T.B.C.

Author's Note: