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"Endangered"Written By: Artemis Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters are
copyright to Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties.
I make no money with this fic. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: yaoi lemon, sap Pairings: 6x2, implied 3x4 Summary: The pilots must separate to talk with
various colonies on behalf of GAIA. "Endangered" 17)
He hit the door hard, causing it to bang noisily against the outside of the gymnasium as it swung open. Heero was belatedly aware of the scream of tires as a car was pulling away fast. No one else was in the alley, but he thought he recognized one of the men in the car as being one of those four who'd left early. Automatically he fired at the tires, but the car squealed around a corner and was gone before he could hit them. "Fuck!" he shouted, running as fast as he could toward the edge of the building. This could NOT be happening! "Duo!" he cried in anger and frustration, but the car evidently had turned yet again, for there was no sign of it. And their rented vehicle was on the opposite side of the building. "What's happened?" one of the rebels asked as they caught up to him. Heero turned around and stuck his gun into the back of his waistband, walking back toward the door. "They got Duo," he explained tightly, his _expression black. They gave him room. "Can we do something?" "Got a radio? Call the spaceport authorities; they won't be staying on this colony long. Tell them to stop all transports from leaving!" His mind was whirling, the dread and fear kept in abeyance for the moment. "W...who? Who would do this?" Heero spun and glared at the man. "OZ, that's who." He let that register a moment, then began to jog past the door toward the front of the building; in their car was a radio set so they could contact Peacemillion at need. He was going to have the damnably unenviable job of informing Zechs that he'd lost his lover. Across the street, the red-haired man named Buncher retreated into the shadows, shaken. [That was *MY* Gundam pilot!] he fussed, wondering how the hell he was going to tell Hestian that Lieutenant Trant was apparently down one test pilot...
Before Duo had been able to register that Cedric's intent was not warm and fuzzy, he had been forced out the door to a waiting car. And the man had accomplices, large, surly looking accomplices who had drawn their guns the moment he and Cedric had stumbled out the side of the building. Cedric had barked an order as Duo had struggled to break free and instantly two men had come forward and covered the boy with a blanket and bound him with electrical tape. Duo had wriggled violently and shouted, but none of it had mattered. The entire incident had taken only seconds... seconds from the moment Cedric had grabbed him until he had been tossed inside the car and it had sped away. "You bastards!" Duo shouted from within the dark shroud of the wool blanket. He was fiercely angry, but also frightened. He couldn't believe that he had let this happen. "You won't get away with this!" "It would seem we already have," Cedric laughed. "You'll never make it off L2," Duo replied back, turning his body to the direction of Cedric's voice. "OZ still controls the colonies... or had you forgotten, little Gundam pilot?" Duo could hear, rather then see the sneer that covered the man's face and was furious. "OZ bastards! You don't have a chance... GAIA will unite the colonies..." The boy's tirade ended abruptly as one of his abductors struck him with the butt end of a gun, knocking him unconscious.
Heero hoped to hell that the men he left behind at the auditorium were able to carry through with contacting the spaceport authorities. It rankled in him to have to rely on others, but he had to get a message to Peacemillion immediately. [Though, what can they do? And I'll be wasting valuable time... I need to get to the spaceport myself...] Gritting his teeth, he drove with one hand and activated the radio controls with the other. For now, he didn't bother setting up the security enzymes, figuring enough time had been lost. He had to get to the spaceport! "Calling Private Mountain, this is Pain. Death has been taken by parties unknown. Heading out now to intercept at spaceport on L2-C102." Private Mountain was the GAIA code name for Peacemillion. "What did you say? Don't answer that," Howard's gritty voice came back crisply. "Don't hang up yet, I need to tell you something!" "What?" Heero muttered, trying to concentrate on the road watching for possible colonial police or roadblocks to slow him down. "That kid - I guess we're calling him the Dragon - he was taken as well. This... could be related. Er, and the Rose Knight is here." Heero almost lost control of the car. [Dragon? That must be... oh, no, Wufei was taken! And... Treize is there! What the hell...?] "Understood. Will rendezvous with Hunger and contact you from there. Tell the White King..." Heero paused, biting his lip. There was no way he could adequately express to Zechs the internal horror he felt that this should have happened under his watch. [I'd... promised!] "Acknowledged," Howard replied quietly. "Tell him I will gladly die to free Death," Heero blurted, then shut off the radio as anger surged up again... anger at himself. Howard placed his fists on the control panel and took a deep breath. Heero's words echoed in his mind, and as much as he believed the boy would do everything in his power to help Duo, he still worried. [That's two Gundam pilots OZ has taken. Maybe our intelligence on their operations has been wrong. What could they be planning?] His stomach tightened with the unknown danger that Duo and Heero were now in and the task ahead of him. [I have to tell Zechs.] Howard would have liked to postpone telling the ace pilot, but Zechs would only be more angry later if he learned he had not been informed at once. The scientist made his way out of the control room and into the corridor. He considered waking Quatre or Noin to lend him support, but decided their presence might only serve to make the situation seem more grave. [Maybe if I talk to him alone, I can keep him from overreacting...] Outside the door to Zechs's room, Howard hesitated before raising his hand and knocking hard three times. He counted to ten and then rapped again. It was early morning and no doubt the Tallgeese II pilot was sound asleep. Rousing, Zechs sat up and blinked at his clock. Though he was an early riser, this was earlier than even his usual hour. [Could be... we've heard something?] Quickly he drew on a robe and went to answer the door. To his wonder, Howard stood outside wearing a peculiar _expression. "Howard... what is it?" "Eh, sorry to disturb you, Zechs," Howard said as he scratched his head. From the look of the man, Zechs had definitely been woken from his sleep, but Howard knew he would become fully awake as soon as he heard the news. "We've just received word from our team on L2," he continued, deliberately taking this slow. "May I come in? I think we both need to sit down." Zechs paled as he allowed Howard to enter, but he remained standing. [Something has happened... Duo...] He swallowed carefully, steeling himself for... whatever. "Just tell me, Howard. What's happened?" "Right," Howard said, and was about to sit, but seeing that Zechs was still standing he didn't bother. "Heero reported in... we're not to worry, he's got the situation under control," Howard said, stretching the truth to delay the inevitable. "Situation?" Zechs glared at him. "What situation?" Then he subsided, not wanting to scare the man too much. "Please, Howard, just tell me what's happened." "Duo's been captured," Howard said, holding out his hands to stop Zechs from what he didn't know. "Heero has the situation under control," he repeated, but he feared that Zechs was no longer listening. "OZ!" Zechs snarled abruptly, then strained to get himself together, though every impulse in his being was urging him to run to his lover's rescue. "Heero PROMISED me... damn him... what do you mean, 'under control'? If Duo has been taken, does he have him back already?" His voice shook a little when he spoke. [How dare they... the bastards...] "Zechs, listen," Howard said, taking a step forward to calm the other man, but not quite willing to touch him in this frenzied state. "We don't know who's involved yet. Heero is going to the spaceport to intercept them and he said to tell you... he'll gladly die to free Duo. We have to trust him to do his job. He'll get your Duo back." But Zechs was already brushing past the man, waving him off in irritation, disappearing into his bathroom... slamming the door. Howard, seeing he was clearly dismissed, scratched his head and departed, hoping his words would sink into the agitated pilot's mind at some point. Howard returned to the control room where he impatiently waited for word from Heero. As he stared into the blackness of space and considered the danger the Gundam pilots might now be in, he made the decision to inform key GAIA personnel of the situation. They might all need to be on alert in case this abduction turned into something more, and in case Zechs decided to take matters into his own hands. [There's no telling what that young man will do...]
Ten minutes later, Heero Yuy had gotten onboard the OZ transport to which Duo had been brought. [They're so bold,] he thought, even more angry with himself, for he should have had someone watch the spaceport for them in case OZ showed up. [Not even taking a private carrier... oh, well, this does make things easier for me in one respect...] After raiding the transport captain's personal locker, Heero found a hiding place and set about making himself presentable as an OZ officer. He'd seen where the detention area on the ship was located, but the security there was extremely tight. [I can't be of help to Duo if I'm captured, too,] he thought morosely, and settled on waiting until they were aboard Barge. As there was no movement of personnel near the detention area, he figured Duo was as safe here as he could get. Heero checked his sidearm and stashed extra bullet clips in pockets while mulling over his situation. [Need a plan... since they'll have a Gundam pilot, they won't be needing my services for that... so...] He peeked out of his niche; there was no one in the hallway. Stepping out confidently, Heero walked a short distance until he came to a room labeled "Computer Center". He entered the room, gave a minute wave of the fingers to a sleepy soldier sprawled behind a desk, and strode directly to the main console of the mainframe that ran the ship's systems. [This is too easy... not that I'm complaining,] he mused as he went to work. In a few minutes he'd prepared documents signed by Colonel Une assigning Officer Odin Lowell to Space Fortress Barge as a computer specialist requested by the Gundam scientists to work with the test pilots on the new mobile suit models. He smirked to himself; "Odin Lowe" was the name of the man who'd raised him to be an assassin until he had come across Dr. J. [I'm banking on a lot here,] he reflected as he printed the orders and folded them neatly to carry in his uniform jacket's breast pocket. [Since it's known to us that Colonel Une isn't completely in her right mind, it's highly likely she won't know whether she's made any such orders or not. At least I have to risk it. For Duo... and Zechs...]
The first thing that Duo became aware of when he regained consciousness was that he was lying on his side on a hard, cold surface and he had a throbbing headache. Instinctively he raised a hand to touch his head, but both hands were bound together... behind his back. He blinked his eyes open. "They could've been more gentle," he said with a groan, as he remembered his ordeal. He slowly pushed himself up and looked around the sterile and empty room. [Looks like the interior of a transport... So they did get me off L2,] he thought, scooting over to lean against the wall. The realization that he was most likely on his way to Barge made his stomach tighten. He hated OZ, hated this war, and now hated himself for being so foolish. Why hadn't he been more cautious? And if he was here, then where was Heero? Had he been captured, too? The thought made the Deathscythe pilot cringe. He had totally fucked up the mission. Without the GAIA representatives what would become of the L2 rebels? Their collaboration was so new that it was entirely possible that the fragile alliance Duo and Heero had created would fall apart. And if Duo and Heero had been captured, then OZ must know the identity of the rebels as well. Surely they would be rounded up, too. "Shit!" Duo exclaimed in frustration. He had never felt like so much of a failure in his young life. "Zechs, I'm so sorry..." As the words rolled off his lips, they pierced his heart. "Oh, God!" he gulped. "Zechs!" Duo's eyes widened. What would his Wolf do when he heard the news? [Oh, shit!] Duo thought, knowing that anything was possible when it came to his fierce, warrior lover. The boy knew well Zechs's deep love and commitment to him. More than once the man had declared that he would risk his life for Duo's... should it come to that. Duo dropped his head, tired and aching, and now mortified that his stupidity and over confidence could throw GAIA into a pre-mature confrontation with OZ. [If Zechs gets it in his head to rescue me, who could stop him?] Duo wondered as he felt their future slipping away. "All our plans... Please, Zechs," he whispered as though his lover was near. "Please don't over-react..." Just then the sound of the lock turning and the door swinging open re-focused Duo's attention onto the moment. Several OZ guards stepped into the cell. "Get up," the captain ordered. Duo sneered, but didn't move. The guard pointed his gun at Duo and then nodded to the others to pick him up. Duo tried to pull away as they grabbed him and hauled him onto his feet. "Where are you taking me?" he asked as they dragged him, unwilling, from the cell. "Prisoners don't ask questions. Especially Gundam pilot prisoners." "Yeah? Well, pardon me!" He got the butt end of the gun in his side for that smart remark, doubling him over, and effectively shutting him up until they got off the transport. At the bottom of the ramp, Duo raised his head to get his first glimpse of Barge. The landing bay was large, but quiet in the early morning hours. Even so there was a small contingent of soldiers waiting for him, befitting the arrival of an important prisoner. "This is the Gundam pilot?" Lieutenant Nikol asked as he stepped forward to appraise the slender young man before him. "Yes, sir!" the captain answered. "You're smaller than the other..." Nikol stopped himself before he revealed that he knew Trowa Barton was also a Gundam pilot. "You're small," he amended. "Well, excuse me," Duo said with bite. "I suppose I've wounded your pride." Nikol's lips curled into a small smile. [Caged animals always lash out. You're mine now, Gundam pilot, and not even Trowa Barton can do anything about that.] "Actually, capturing you has done wonders for my ego," Nikol said, smugly. Duo snarled as Barge's second-in-command clasped his hands behind his back, making a final assessment of his captive. He was anxious to test his new guinea pig's abilities on the Mercurius, but he needed to be patient. Colonel Une would be curious about the Gundam pilot and want to meet him. "Take him away," Nikol said, dismissively, and then as he turned to leave added, "I don't want him harmed." "Yes, sir!" That directive was quickly forgotten once the guards were left alone with their small prisoner. They hauled him off toward the detention block, not letting Duo walk under his own volition. "Hey, you guys deaf? He said he didn't want me harmed," Duo said, as he cringed under their tight grip. "Can't take it, huh?" one of the guards joked. "I thought you Gundam pilots were supposed to be tough." Duo's rage was beginning to churn deep in his belly. "Well, why don't you un-cuff me then we'll see who's tough!" "I have a better idea," the captain said as he looked over his shoulder and winked, and then continued to lead the way into the workings of Barge. A chill raced through Duo. [This isn't good,] he thought, swallowing hard. His eyes looked about wildly, cataloguing his surroundings. [I need to get out of here...] In moments they were in the secured wing for prisoners. Two guards were on duty at the entrance, but otherwise the wing seemed abandoned, making Duo wonder if he was their only prisoner. The guards dragging him stopped only briefly to confirm the prisoner's arrival and then proceeded down an ante-corridor to a cell that had to be unlocked. As the door slid open, one of the guards shoved Duo hard onto the floor. "Ugh!" Duo cried out as his chin connected with the solid surface. The next thing he knew he was being hauled to his feet again and slammed against the wall. His head snapped back, striking the metal surface and blurring his vision. "Wha... What are you doing?" he asked, as the captain pressed against him. "Seeing what you're made of, little Gundam pilot," the man said, and then reached down and squeezed. "Hey!" Duo yelped in surprise and fear as the man fondled him. "Nice package," the captain said, and then looked back at his comrades. "What do you say we have some fun?" "Whoa, wait a minute guys..." Duo's protest was cut-off by a firm hand over his mouth, and the sound of laughter from the guards. Rough hands descended on him, spreading over his body like a disease. [This can't be happening... this *isn't* happening!] Duo thought, as his head throbbed with a blinding pain. The men tugged at his clothes, pushing up his shirt, and sliding sweaty palms over his bare chest. The strange, unwanted touch made Duo shiver uncontrollably and his stomach turn. He was frightened, truly frightened as it became all too clear what these OZ soldiers had in mind. They were going to rape him. "Nooooo!" Duo cried out, panic-stricken, but his plea was muffled by the captain's large hand. As his jeans were unfastened and pulled down, Duo renewed his efforts to stop the attack. He struggled against them, jerking every which way, kicking out, but it was hopeless. With his hands bound behind his back and three men on him the outcome was inevitable. [Oh, God, no! Zechs! Please, somebody help me!]
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