Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ United Hearts ❯ Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own the G boys. They belong to their respective copyright companies. I do however own Shane, Paul, Colin, Mickey, Benny, Toby and any other unfamiliar characters. I also own the plot if you can call it that.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5+S

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Angst, Yaoi, Shonen-ai, violence, language, references to rape, sap, blood, Death (not one of the boys), Lemon/Lime, medical stuff, and any other weird thing that comes out of my head.... be afraid...

Notes: This is the sequel to "Lost Souls." While it is not necessary to read "Lost Souls" first I do recommend it otherwise some of the occurrences may not make sense. The references to medical procedures, medical reports, autopsies etc. are entirely based on my own pathetic knowledge of such and so I apologise in advance for any incorrectness contained there in. :)

" United Hearts "

Aug. 2002 ShenLong

Chapter 17

Having finished their breakfast Heero and Duo set out to find the warehouse that doctor P had continued his experiments and research in. Given the location from the information Heero had managed to dig up on the laptop they knew it was located across the colony in sector 148-3.

Duo looked down the street. "Well it has ta be down here somewhere Heero."

"Hn. Let's take a look."

They moved down the deserted street until they came to where the warehouse should be. Duo gazed around. "Ummm Heero?"

"Hn. I know."

The building was no more. Fire had raged through and left nothing but charred ruins and rubble.

"Looks like either an accident or someone was trying to cover their tracks." said Heero as he picked his way over the debris.

"What a mess." Duo said as he followed the ex Wing pilot.

They spent the next couple of hours sifting through the rubble in an attempt to find something... anything that would confirm that the doctor had been here. They were out of luck.

"Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing." said Heero as he looked around.

"Yeah ya can sure say that again." said Duo as he sifted through a patch of dirt.

"I don't think we are going to find anything here Duo."

A glint of something caught Duo's eye. "Hang on a sec Hee-chan." he said as he bounded over to the sparkling piece.

"What did you find Duo?"

Duo extracted the small piece of metal and examined it carefully. Heero came up behind him to see what the braided American held.

Duo's face lit up with a grin. "Know what this is Heero?"

Heero shook his head. It looked like a burnt chunk of metal to him.

Duo hadn't spent a lot of time working with scrap and not come away with some knowledge of what was what. He turned the piece around in his hand. "This my dear Heero is a piece from a gas cylinder."

"You sure?"

"Yep. See this part here where it begins to curve?"

Heero nodded.

"That's part of the top. This piece was off the upper part of a gas cylinder, just where it turns to go into the gauge part."

"Then it seems the doctor definitely carried out his research here."

"I would say so Heero. The rest of these buildings here were used for other stuff. No need for cylinders, besides this metal is from the sort used for oxygen type cylinders, it's not as heavy duty as the type used for other gasses."

Heero planted a kiss on Duo's cheek. "You're one smart person Duo."

Duo blushed suitably at this comment. "Aww thanks Hee-chan." He returned the kiss, only to Heero's lips and not his cheek. "So now what?"

"Well we can pretty much confirm that doctor P was working from here. Now lets go back to the hotel and see what the computer has managed to find on this person that was seen with the kids that disappeared."

"Right."

Leaving the ruined building the two Preventers went back to the hotel.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Shane began to wake up slowly. He felt groggy and his head ached. He opened an eye and blinked. He was in some kind of room. He ran a mental check over his bodies current status. His head hurt, arms were behind his back and secured with something, likewise his legs were bound at the ankles. He was lying on what appeared to be a bed but the room was too dark to make out much more. He tensed his arms to test the bonds. Secure. No hope of breaking them.

He tried to get his eyes to focus clearly and get some idea of where he was and why. He was alone. His confused mind played back over what he could remember. He had been going to meet Fayah, walking down the street when some guy had propositioned him. He remembered trying to get past the man and then... nothing. His mind was a total blank.

So what the hell was he doing here? And where was here? How much time had passed? Fayah.... She would be thinking that Shane didn't want to see her. He groaned. He had to get out of here.

Just then the door opened and a large man entered. "I see you are awake."

"Who the hell are you and why am I here?"

"Patience my young whore... patience."

"I already told ya, I ain't no whore." spat Shane.

"Really?" came the cold reply. The man came closer and lowered his face towards Shane. He tilted the boy's face upwards to stare at him.

Shane felt his face pulled up and he stared into cold gray eyes. He shivered. Those eyes looked so calculating, cruel even. Shane felt his breakfast begin a return journey.

"You just stay there, be quiet and behave yourself and I might spare you." came the cold voice.

Shane shuddered as a hand caressed his cheek. The hand made its way down to his crotch where it closed around his cock through the fabric. "If you don't comply then I may be forced to indulge myself in this sweet body of yours."

Shane turned his head as he fought to keep the contents of his stomach.

The hand squeezed again. "That's better." Then the hand was gone.

Shane watched as the man left the room. As soon as the door was closed Shane managed to get himself to the side of the bed where he proceeded to deposit his earlier meal on the floor. Rolling back onto the bed he silently prayed that Fayah would go looking for him, that Duo or Heero would find him. He was scared...

This guy seemed to fit the profile of the man that he and Duo had been investigating. If he was one and the same then Shane dreaded to think what his immediate future held for him.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Trowa tracked down the man by the name of Nylan that Toby had run into. He headed for the maintenance room where the man should be according to the security scan. He found the room and could hear voices coming from within. He punched the com unit beside the door.

"Yes?"

"This is Preventer Barton. Security division. I need to speak with a man called Nylan." Trowa waited for the words to be answered.

Inside the room Nylan paled visibly. What did the security want with him? Surely they hadn't gotten on to their plan. He looked at his partner Carter who shrugged his shoulders. "Do you think they know?" he whispered.

"I don't think so. Surely they would have asked for both of us."

Nylan moved to the door and pressed the small unit. "This is Nylan here Preventer Barton. What can I do for you?"

"Open the door please." came Trowa's response. He held a master security code card but didn't feel the need to use it.

Nylan looked at Carter who nodded. "Let him in. If there is a problem we can take care of it."

Nylan slid the card through the door's security lock and the door opened. Nylan was faced with a tall slender man wearing Preventer uniform and a mop of cinnamon hair obscuring one eye. "I'm Nylan, what can I do for you Preventer Barton?"

Trowa looked him up and down. For some reason he took an instant dislike to the man. "I believe you had a small mishap with my son yesterday." said Trowa.

Nylan visibly relaxed. The security man was only here to look into the incident with that brat yesterday. "Yeah I did. The kid came running out of nowhere and knocked me flying."

"My son tells me that he apologized to you."

"Yeah he did but that doesn't mean he should be allowed to get away with it. Why I could have been carrying important stuff and dropped or broken it. Kids like that need to be disciplined, a couple of good spankings would soon see him learn some manners in my book, and that other one that was with him, the mouth on him...." Nylan was cut off.

As Trowa listened to the man's tirade he could understand why Toby had gotten so upset, he could feel his own anger swelling. He cut the man off. "My son is not a bad mannered misbehaving child. He is a normal eight year old boy who was playing with his friends. He knew what he did was wrong and has apologized to you for it. I have also come to apologize for him and to let you know that he has been suitably punished. However..."

Trowa's green eyes took on an ominous glint and Nylan took a defensive step backwards.

"However there was no need for you to continue on at him the way you did. You should be ashamed of yourself for terrifying a young child like that. That boy has been through a lot and while he is no angel he certainly does not need people like you abusing him. He will not bother you again and I suggest that you stay clear of my sons as well. Good day." Trowa turned on his heel and strode away.

Nylan watched open mouthed as the tall Preventer left. Then fuming inside he swung the door shut. "Bastard! Who does he think he is coming down here and carrying on at me like that."

Carter laughed.

"It's not funny!" yelled Nylan.

"Don't worry about it. All we have to do is plant these things and set them off tomorrow. Once they are detonated the Preventer will have his hands full and you can take him out if you want to."

Nylan brightened at that thought. "Yeah. I just might do that."

Carter stood up. "Come on then, we have to get going. There is maintenance awaiting us in the main conference room.... Time to plant the virus."

Nylan picked up his tool kit and followed his partner out of the room and headed for the main conference building. Tomorrow when all the confusion hits he would get his chance to show that young cocky Preventer agent that he, Nylan, would not sit back and take that kind of abuse from anyone.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Fayah's weeping stilled as she heard the sound of a familiar voice. She looked up and crawled to peek around the side of the hotel. She saw Duo and Heero approaching the hotel. Duo was chattering non stop to the darker haired man. She pulled herself upright and went to walk around the side of the building to meet them but somewhere along the line of sitting, her knees had stiffened up with her injuries and she found herself staggering and then falling once more. Before she could hit the concrete a pair of arms caught her. She looked up to see who had got her and met with Duo's concerned violet.

Duo was chatting away aimlessly to Heero as they walked back to the hotel. As they neared the steps so he saw a figure stagger out of the side ally and fall. Instinctively he raced forward and grabbed the form before it could hit the concrete. "Fayah?" he said with concern.

"Hi Duo." she managed to answer.

Heero looked at the girl and quickly assessed the situation. "Let's get her up to our room Duo and treat her injuries."

Duo nodded in reply as he picked the girl up into his strong arms. "What happened? How did you hurt yourself? Where's Shane?"

Fayah closed her eyes momentarily then spoke. "Shane didn't meet me, I came here ta look for him but the hotel staff threw me out."

Duo's eyes darkened. He knew just what sort of treatment Fayah would have received from the hotel staff. The anger burned within him.

Heero also heard Fayah's admission. Holding the door open for Duo to carry the girl in he placed his hand on Duo's arm. "Wait one moment."

Duo stilled and watched as Heero strode purposefully to the desk. He grinned as he recognized the perfect soldier at work.

Heero marched up to the receptionist. She stood and smiled at him, then a nervous tremor passed through her body as she noted the glare on the young man's face. "Can I help you Mr. Yuy?"

"Yes you can. I believe you are the one responsible for having that girl over there tossed out of here?"

The woman swallowed hard. "Errr yes I am. We don't encourage street trash to hang around this establishment sir."

Heero closed the gap between their faces. "That girl happens to be a very nice individual. She is not street trash as you call it. She is also the girlfriend of my son and came here to find him." Heero's voice lowered to a menacing tone. "I come back here to find she has not only been insulted, but physically removed from the premises and as a result has suffered injury to her person. Now let me tell you something, she is under the protection of the Preventer network and is a key witness in an important case. The way you and your staff have treated her and humiliated her will not go down well with my superiors or myself. You can consider this hotel and all its employees under thorough investigation by the Preventer network." Heero leaned in until his breath brushed across the woman's face. "I personally will see to it that you will no longer have this kind of a job. I will be investigating you myself."

Heero turned and left the shaking woman. He nodded to Duo who shot a glare at the woman and carried Fayah to the elevator and the safety of their room.

Once inside Duo lowered the girl to the couch while Heero fetched the first aid kit and a bowl of warm water. Gently swabbing the girls damaged knees Heero was angered further to note how her dress had been torn and dirtied. His heart went out to her.

Fayah flinched slightly under the sting of the antiseptic.

"Sorry Fayah."

"It's okay Heero."

Duo held her hand while Heero finished dressing the wounds and applied a thick gauze and bandage. Pleased with his work Heero swiftly disposed of the kit and soiled utensils. Then he asked her again why she was here.

"I waited for Shane in the spot we said we would meet at but he didn't show up. I was there just a bit 'fore ten and waited till eleven but he didn't show. I thought maybe he didn't wanna meet up afta all and so I thought I would come and look for him ta let him know it was okay if he had changed his mind." Fayah looked so sad with her admission.

Duo got up and left the room without a word. Heero watched him go knowing what he was up to. A few moments later Duo was back. "He isn't in his room. His good shirt and jeans are missin so that means he did go out ta meet you Fayah."

Heero took up the conversation. "I know he wouldn't have just left you there Fayah. He's not that sort of person."

"I didn't think he was. So where is he then?" asked Fayah.

"Hmmm good question. I know he's totally smitten with ya Fayah so he wouldn't have stood you up on purpose." said Duo with a wink.

Fayah blushed.

"Somethin must have happened to him." Duo was locked in thought.

"Hn. We had better go look for him. I don't like the feeling about this Duo."

"Me either koi. Fayah, you come with me and we will search around where he was supposed to meet ya."

Fayah nodded.

"I'll check the hospitals and then join in the search. I'll begin with the hotel that you were at yesterday Duo. The guy there might know something. I'll let Une know as well, maybe she can suggest something." said Heero.

"Okay. Let's go Fayah."

Fayah stood, her knees felt much better now that Heero had treated them.

"Here, take this." Heero passed Duo the small communicator.

"Thanks koi." Duo gave Heero a quick kiss before taking Fayah's hand and heading out the door.

Heero turned back to his lap top and began to check all the hospitals around the area for admittance's within the last 4 hours.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Nylan and Carter made their way through the compound to the main conference hall. They were stopped outside the main foyer.

"What is it you are here for?" asked the Preventer.

Nylan handed over the small print out. "A problem was reported with the air-conditioning ducts in the main room." he said.

The Preventer took the paper and scanned down it. "I will have to clear this with main security."

"Go right ahead." said Carter.

The agent took the paper along with the two men's security passes and went to the vid phone. He called the main surveillance room.

"Chang here."

"Excuse me for calling sir but I need to clear two maintenance workers that have been told to fix a problem within the main conference room."

"What are the work details?"

The young agent passed the information down the line to Wufei who cross checked with the main frame. The scheduled task appeared and all the information checked out. "Okay. They may proceed but please ask them to wait until the conference breaks for lunch."

"Thank you sir." The Preventer cut the connection and returned to the waiting men. He handed back the passes and paper work. You may proceed to the room but wait until they break for lunch before commencing work."

"That's fine with me." said Nylan as he took back the items.

"How long till they break?" asked Carter.

The Preventer looked at his watch. "In about another half an hour. Just wait in the foyer section."

"Okay. I don't mind getting paid to wait around." said Carter and he picked up the tool box and began to head for the foyer area.

With a nod of thanks to the agent, Nylan followed.

They didn't have to wait long before the meeting broke for lunch. The large doors opened wide and the group of dignitaries spilled out making their way to the large dining area.

Once they had all left Nylan and Carter entered. Carter looked around and made a note of where the cameras were situated. He knew the room would be under constant surveillance and was working out the best angle to 'fix' the problem without being seen too much.

Nylan was also studying the layout. He moved across to one of the air con grills and began to unscrew the face plate. He positioned the tool box in front of him where his back would cover his actions.

Carter had similarly removed the grill from the duct on the opposite wall. He was busily pulling things out and fiddling with wires on the pretense of fixing the machine. He reached into the tool box and pulled out a pair of pliers. Replacing his hand inside the duct he carefully positioned the small lighter concealed in his palm. Satisfied with its placement he withdrew and began to tidy up the mess. Screwing the plate back into position he moved to the next duct.

Nylan was repeating the process on the opposite side with the ducts there. He glanced at his watch. The group would be returning in just over an hour. They had plenty of time, but the sweat still trickled down his back.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Back in the main surveillance room Wufei glanced from time to time at the monitor that showed the main conference room. He could see the two men at work but didn't pay them too much notice. He saw the wires and bits strewn around and it was enough to convince him they were actually working. He looked up as Trowa returned with their lunch.

Handing one brown paper bag across to his partner Trowa sat down and proceeded to open his own. He reached inside and withdrew a tuna sandwich. Unwrapping it he sank his teeth into the soft bread and bit off a large chunk.

Wufei opened his own lunch and extracted the cream cheese bagel inside. It wasn't all that long ago that he would have turned his nose up at something like this but Sally had persuaded him to try one and since then he was hooked. He took a large bite.

"What's happening?" asked Trowa around a mouthful of tuna.

"Gone to lunch."

"So who's that in the room then?"

"Maintenance."

"Oh?"

"Air conditioning ducts aren't working properly. They're fixing the problem."

"Okay." Trowa continued to eat his sandwich in silence.

Wufei made short work of his bagel then swallowed down the apple juice that accompanied it. From time to time he glanced at the screen. It looked like the men were nearly finished. He took note of the time. Good, the heads were all due back in fifteen minutes and they didn't need these guys thumping and banging around while they thrashed out the problems of the universe.

"Isn't that the guy you went to speak to earlier? The one that Toby knocked over?" asked Wufei.

Trowa leaned a little closer to the screen and squinted as he studied the figure on the monitor. "Yes he is."

"Doesn't look like a particularly nice individual."

"No. There's something about him I don't trust."

Knowing that Trowa's instincts were rarely wrong Wufei made a mental note to check into this man's background a little more. "What did you say his name was?"

"Nylan."

"Thank you." Wufei placed his half eaten orange down and proceeded to attack the keyboard of the computer.

"What are you doing Wufei?"

"I just want to get a little more information on this fellow."

Trowa moved his chair to sit behind Wufei. He kept on eye on the remaining monitors and from time to time he glanced at the computer screen.

Wufei grunted softly. He had found the man's file in the data base. Everything seemed to be legitimate. He was employed by the Fine Air Refrigeration and Air-conditioning company. This company had the contract to maintain the compounds many units. He had been with them for five years and had an excellent work record. Wufei rubbed his temples. "His background and employment history all checks out.

Trowa read down the file and nodded. The thought to check further never occurred to either of them.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"All finished here." said Carter as he stood up and eased the kinks from his back.

"Nearly done." replied Nylan as he began to replace the plate on the last of the units.

Collecting their tools they exited the building just as the dignitaries were returning from lunch.

Nylan nodded to senator Evans as they passed. This time tomorrow they would all be suffering. Serve them all right the no good bastards. This conference was just a farce. There was no intention of allowing the colonies a say in their future, even if the Earth sphere claimed to be just a guiding influence. As far as Nylan could see the earth hadn't changed, only the players. They still wanted to rule the colonies and that was something he was intent on making sure never happened.

Flashing a grin to Carter they went back to the maintenance room ready to start on the next job.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~