"Cause and Effect"

Written By: Honor

Disclaimers: I own Gundam Wing. I also own Australia, the San Francisco Zoo and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Pairings: 2x4

Rating: NC-15…probably

Spoilers: Nada

Warnings: Probably TWT, romance, yaoi, language, some violence, some angst, lime

Betas: Velvet and Caitilin

Author’s Insane Ramblings:

This is Velvet’s fault. And Caitilin’s too, come to think of it. Caitilin got me in the mood for 2x4 with a comment she made, and Velvet sent me a fic that got the wheels turning. Besides, Caitilin keeps feeding the stupid plot bunny! With carrots, no less! *beams proudly* Now that the blame is sufficiently cast, I can go about my business.

" Cause and Effect"

Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.
Napoleon Bonaparte

Chapter 2

The mission was simple. One of O’s informants had turned traitor, and he needed to be eliminated. The tricky part was how to do it. The man lived and worked on an OZ base, rarely leaving it except on weekends. It wouldn’t be wise to enter into a base and kill someone then leave again. It would surely make things complicated. Well, the escape part of it would be complicated.

The easier route was to wait until he was off the base, then lure him into a back alley somewhere and bump him off. Reading through the man’s profile, I discovered that he liked to go clubbing on Saturday’s. He usually went to the Starlight, but sometimes he went to Enigma.

Duo was reading over my shoulder as we went through the information. Here, I must observe that Duo reads faster than I do. I was justifiably confused when he started swearing viciously. “What?”

“Read the last paragraph,” he bit out.

With a last glance at his very upset profile, I read the last paragraph. =Jenkins’s sexual preference is well known to be teenage boys, preferably blonds= It then went to document how many times he had picked up blonds at the club and went to a nearby hotel room.

Oh.

Duo turned to Wufei, scowl darkening. “That’s why you brought us into it.”

Since it was O’s informant, it should have been Wufei’s problem to deal with. I had been wondering about that a little, but we often called upon each other as back up, so I didn’t really mind. Or I hadn’t. I didn’t need Wufei to spell it out for me. He needed a way of getting Jenkins away from people so we didn’t have any witnesses. I was blond. It was a simple equation that equaled to me being bait.

“I don’t like it either, Maxwell,” Wufei grumbled. And he really didn’t look happy. “There isn’t much of a choice. I have to do this quickly. I can’t wait for an opportunity that might be weeks in coming.”

Duo’s hand tightened around mine. Oh bother. I gestured for Wufei to give us a minute, then I dragged my boyfriend out of his chair and across the room. “Duo,” I said as gently as possible, “it’s okay.”

“The hell it is.” He looked particularly fed up.

“I can do this. I’ll dance with him, flirt, suggest we take things to a more private location and drag him out the back way. Then you can beat the living daylights out of him for daring to touch your boyfriend.”

We were stuck and he knew it. He grabbed me and hugged me so tight my ribs squeaked, and I returned the embrace just as hard. “Promise?”

“Promise,” I whispered into his ear.

“Okay.” He led me back to the laptop and Wufei. The Chinese teen had sensibly started lunch since it was time for it and we were in the kitchen anyway. “I’m going in with him,” Duo said without preamble. “Close enough to give him some help if something goes wrong.”

Wufei hesitated a moment in his sandwich making, studying Duo’s face. Then he nodded. “Fine.”

A sudden thought hit me. “I don’t have any clothes appropriate for this.”

They turned and looked at me as if I just turned into Relena, pink outfit and all. “Don’t look at me like that! I don’t have anything leather, satin, or fishnet and that’s what you have to wear in order to go clubbing.”

Duo hummed. “You know, you’ve got a point. Right. After lunch, we go shopping.”

Our current safehouse was near a very large city, so it was a simple matter to find a mall. We stumbled across a leather shop not far from the mall entrance, and went right in. On the back wall there were stacks of leather pants, and I started browsing through them. I was torn between a size that would fit (barely) and look like I had painted them on, and one size bigger so that I could move if I really needed to. Prudence won out, and I went a size bigger.

Just to be sure, I tried them on in a fitting room. Yeah, these fit right. I wasn’t sure about the look—maybe I should go with something else? I’ve just never worn anything like this before so seeing myself in leather was…odd. Maybe I should check with Duo. I stepped out and came around the door. “Duo? Do I look okay?”

Duo didn’t answer. He was too busy drooling. His finger made a circling motion, and I dutifully turned to show that yes, the pants clung to every curve. “Babe, you’ve got five seconds to get back in there and change out of those things otherwise I’ll jump you right here.”

I don’t think he was joking. I skedaddled back into my changing booth and quickly exchanged leather for slacks.

Duo was still having a hard time restraining himself when I came back out. I felt rather wickedly flattered I could get that kind of reaction. We’re going to have to buy a shirt to go with the pants, right? Maybe when we got home, I should try both on—just as a dress rehearsal—and show him.

“Q, you’re thinking something dirty.”

I blinked at him, innocent as the day I was born.

He groaned. “Don’t give me that, I know you’re thinking something dirty. You always smile like that when you’re thinking of doing something you shouldn’t.”

“Where should we go for a shirt?”

“Stop changing the subject.”

“I’m not. Shirt?”

He groaned, gave in, and led the way for the shirt. Now, I know this sounds ridiculous, but it took ten minutes to get the pants and two hours to find a shirt that went with it. When we finally did find something, I had to admit that it was perfect. A shimmering blue shirt that literally matched my eyes and was cut so it defined my form perfectly.

We paid out, me still scheming on getting my boyfriend hot and bothered, Duo drooling at a mental picture of me in leather. At least, I assume that was the picture. It might be me naked, who knows?

We were all in mission mode in one way or another. Two solo missions had come in for Heero and Trowa while we were out, and they were busy prepping for theirs. Wufei decided that we might as well go tonight—we were only four hours away from the target. It was two in the afternoon now. I had an hour to get ready, we’d drive there and find a good place to park, and the club would probably be open.

I was just shrugging on my shirt when there was a knock at the door. “Come in!”

Duo sauntered inside, closing the door behind him. “Hey, I wanted…to…” He swallowed hard, eyes gliding over me.

I finished buttoning the last button, and did a slow turn. “What do you think?”

In two seconds flat I was pressed against the bathroom door, Duo’s tongue in my throat and his hips grinding into mine. Fighting down a smile—it’s hard to smile and kiss at the same time—I threw my arms around his shoulders and happily kissed him back. His hips thrust up into mine, grinding against my erection, and I groaned, thrusting back. The kiss became a battle for control, Duo sabotaging any attempt on my part to breathe. I raised my legs to wrap around his waist—

“—nner! Winner!”

Uh? Pulling back, I blinked until my eyes were relatively clear of lust and focused on Wufei. “Er…hi, ‘Fei.”

The Chinese teen growled. “Will you two stay focused?”

Duo slowly let me drop, taking in deep breaths. “What’s up ‘Fei?” his tone added ‘and it better be good.’

“We leave in ten minutes. Get ready, Maxwell.”

Duo grumbled, glared, and gave in with a last kiss brushed over my mouth and a heady promise. “Later.”

“Later,” I agreed. And without any of my well meaning team mates around, too.

Instead of just guessing which club and trying to find Jenkins in the crowd, Wufei opted to wait just outside the base and then follow the traitor. The man drove a vintage Thunderbird, so it was an easy car to spot and follow.

While we were driving, I was having a hard time not jumping Duo. He was wearing tight leather pants—leaving absolutely nothing to my imagination, god help me—and a very see through red top that, again, left nothing to my imagination.

When Wufei saw how Duo was decked out, he sensibly put Duo in front with him and made me ride in back. Meanie. It was boring in the back of a car for four hours, would it really have been so bad to put Duo and me together?

…okay, so it was probably a good move on his part. Didn’t mean that I liked it.

On this particular night Jenkins chose to go to Enigma. ‘Shady’ didn’t do the place justice. It was the kind of place that people were jumped and people had sex in the darker corners of the building. I took one look at that place and swallowed hard. I’m a Gundam pilot, I’ve been in more battles than I care to recall at the moment and no one in there is capable of taking me down or forcing me into something I don’t want to do. That aside, my instincts were screaming ‘head for the hills!’

As we climbed out of our car—a very mild and sedate sedan—Duo wrapped me up in a fortifying hug. “Okay?”

Besides, even if the unthinkable happened and someone did corner me, Duo would be there. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he could handle whatever was thrown at him. I hugged him back and let out a cleansing breath. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Wufei moved off, disappearing into the night without even a whisper. I knew where he was going—the back alley. Drawing myself up, I moved free of Duo’s hold and put on a smile I usually used with the media. This one said ‘I know where I am, where I’m going, and what I’m going to do when I get there’. Duo dropped back a few paces to give the illusion that he wasn’t with me.

But he was. And it gave me the boost of confidence that I needed.

Enigma was a very dark hole with throbbing music and just enough light to see by. I ignored the bar to my left and slipped into the middle of the floor. Without being obvious about it, I just moseyed around as if I were looking for a good spot, all the while looking for Jenkins. I finally saw him, dancing near a group of other people. I didn’t think they were friends of his, more like acquaintances. The vibe wasn’t right for them to be comfortable friends. When I was in good view of him, I wriggled a niche for myself nearby and started dancing.

That impromptu dancing lesson of Duo’s yesterday was really paying off now. I moved my hips like he showed me, ran my hands over my chest and thighs and flowed with the beat of the music. I made it as obvious as possible with how I danced that I was alone here, and wasn’t expecting anyone to show up.

Three songs of this, and I saw under my lashes that Jenkins’ head was turned my direction. I rotated on the half beat, giving my hips a suggestive twist, then rotated again so that I could watch him without being obvious about it. Oh yes, he was definitely interested now.

He slowly made his way to me, dodging other people as he came. Okay, this was it. I had to act like I was interested. He really wasn’t my type, being big and burly, but my opinion really didn’t matter. He wanted an easy lay—I had to convince him I was just what he was looking for.

He came up smiling in what I’m sure he thought was a charming manner. He pantomimed the whole ‘can I dance with you?’ thing and I smiled, gesturing him forward. When he put his hands on me, a shiver of revulsion went straight up and down my spine, but I managed to hide it and leisurely placed both hands around his shoulders.

Hips rubbing, bodies touching, we danced. It was obvious to me that he was turned on. I twisted to put my back to him and turned up the heat a little, grinding into his hard-on. His hands spasmed on my hips and he ground back in rising excitement.

I’m so going to need a hot shower after this.

As the song started to end, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer. I was having a really hard time squashing the reflex to throw this guy off of me and run for Duo. Turning my smile up a notch, I grabbed his hand and started towing him toward the back.

Lustful idiot that he was, he didn’t argue and followed me quite happily out the back door.

I had a good idea that Jenkins would get squashed as soon as he was out the door, so as soon as I was clear of the door I tore free and darted low and to the left.

Jenkins smashed into the opposite building, held by a snarling Duo. Jenkins’ fear level spiked and I staggered slightly under the weight of it.

Wufei steadied me, but his eyes never left his prey. “Winner?”

“I’m fine,” I returned automatically. “Duo, let him breathe.”

Duo shoved him into the wall again before finally letting up. “’Fei, kill this guy quick unless you want me to do it.”

Jenkins turned slightly, only the white of his eyes showing. “Y-you’re 05, right?”

Wufei just glared.

“W-why are you after me?!”

Uh…? The reading I was getting from this man was very odd. He was scared to death but he was also confused. No sign of guilt, just confusion. Almost like he had no idea why he had three Gundam pilots glaring at him. I caught Wufei’s arm. “Wait.”

Now Duo was staring at me. “Q?”

“Something’s off. There’s no sign of guilt from him. Just confusion and fear. Jenkins.”

The man’s eyes jerked to me.

“What was the last message you sent to O?”

“T-the schematics to the new Mobile Dolls.”

From what O said, the last message he was sent was false information. The message Jenkins was referring to was the message before last, if my memory served. I could also tell he wasn’t lying.

Wufei was watching me out of the corner of his eye. “Well?”

“He’s telling the truth. It’s entirely possible that someone hacked in and stole his handle—he was just the dupe.”

Wufei grunted. Duo looked less than thrilled with this information—he wanted something to pound on, and I had just taken his main target away—but he stepped back.

“Fine.” Wufei yanked Jenkins around and started towing. “We can’t talk here. Let’s go.”

The car was parked a half block down. The walk to it was made in dead silence. Duo slid into the driver’s seat, and I slid into the dead man’s seat next to him, leaving Wufei and Jenkins the back. Duo spun out with squealing tires, still in that taut silence that let me know he really wasn’t happy about the situation.

“Where were you when you sent the schematics?” Wufei demanded with a clipped voice.

“M-my workstation.”

“Of all the stupid—!!”

“There was no other way!” Jenkins protested. “They won’t let those things out of the building, much less the base! I had to do it there!”

“That is very likely how they found you,” Wufei snarled. “Did it not occur to you to scan them into the computer and then burn them to disc? You could have walked out with it that way!”

I barely paid any attention to them. Jenkins was low on the totem pole when it came to informants, but he was still a door to O’s security network. It was likely that someone was using Jenkins’ handle and hacking their way inside. We couldn’t trust anything from O right now. Pulling out my phone, I quickly hit 8. I had to warn O somehow.

<Insert password> a cool female voice requested.

“Who you callin’, Q?” Duo asked quietly, eyes still on the road.

“H. We need to know if O’s security network has been compromised,” I answered as I typed in the password ‘all for one’. A moment of processing, then I heard H’s voice answer.

<Quatre?>

“H. We have reason to believe O’s security network is compromised. Handle used is JKN05. Informant himself is not traitor, however he used his handle carelessly and I think someone picked up on it.”

<Hm. I’ll handle it. Is 05 near you?>

“Yes.”

“Understood. 04, out.” Turning slightly in my seat, I looked at Wufei. “H will handle things. He said to disconnect from O’s network. He’ll contact you through me when it’s safe.” Wufei nodded firmly. “Jenkins, is there anyone that we can leave you with? Someplace safe?”

Jenkins nodded slowly. “Yeah. There’s a guy who owes me a few favors. If you keep going on this road, then take a right on Highland, we’ll go straight to his place.”

“Fine. Duo?”

“On it.”

The silence we had during the walk to the car was nothing compared to the silence now. I didn’t try to break it up. I was still high on adrenaline, and in mission-mode. It was hard to calm my body down from that, especially considering we had Jenkins in the car with us. He was a bomb waiting to go off. I didn’t breathe easier until we dropped him off at a complex of fairly standard apartments. Duo barely let the door closed before he sped off.

Mission somewhat-successful. I settled into the seat with closed eyes, trying to doze. I still had an edgy boyfriend to settle once I got home. I got the feeling I would need all the energy I could get.

~*~*~*~

Chapter 3

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