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"Just Ducky"Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language Pairings: 1x2, 3x4 Summary: When Trowa Barton and Wufei Chang adjust to college life, Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy learn to balance work with their changing relationships. A/N: My deepest thanks go to the kindness of Snowdragon
and WaterLily for editing and encouraging me. "Just Ducky " Chapter 9 - Caper's Contusion "Some parents say it is toy guns that make boys warlike. But give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout Bang!"-- George F. Will (American editor and news commentator b.1941) With a blink of those pretty blue eyes and a pout, Quat lied through his teeth and got away with it. "I'm nineteen." He was older than that, my age, but he sure didn't look it, and Barr couldn't have guessed he was more than jail-bait. Barr laughed. "You're not even seventeen." He leaned over my friend, dying to touch him, but not daring to, yet, so as not to scare him off-my guess. "That's okay, I won't tell." Geez, whatta slimeball you are, Barr. On the other hand, I admired Quat for retaining his smile and not puking. "My organization can place you both, with your varied talents. You are interested in earning some money?" "Yes, sir!" Quatre piped up with so much sincerity, he had me believing his scam. After that, the goons came out of the shadows, only three men, and we were offered a ride to his "place". "Need my jacket." That gave me an excuse to open the car door, the light being a signal to 'Ro that things were cool and that we were about to leave. He had the spare keys, so I locked the door and tossed the jacket at Quatre. He knew I'd lined the pockets with audio bugs. There was no way for Quat to hide anything in his jeans. I don't know how the man could bend to sit. "Here, Qwin, you need it more than me." "Qwin" was Quatre, who had started to tremble. Cold or fear, I didn't know. It could have been a part of his act, if it was, he was very convincing. Barr lead us to his rather modest, aging BMW. Whatever his organization did, it wasn't flushed with money to flaunt around. That could mean Barr had just made it to a low rung on his way to scaling the ladder up the hierarchy to the crime empire. Qwin climbed into the backseat, scooted over, then me then Barr. Two goons got in the front and the third opened the far door, making Qwin squeeze into me. I ended up on Barr's lap. Oh, joy. I hoped the engine I heard staring up as we pulled out of the underground garage was Heero, not that it actually was, and realized that I'd been out of the dangerous-operation loop for some time. Instead of computing the number of guys I could take out in a fly-by-my-pants style of attack, should I need to, I was worrying about my backup. I could make it out of the car alive if some joker wanted to pull a knife on me or shoot me or something, I guessed. Geez, I was getting old. Old and cautious. 'Course, I had a life and a lover to live for now. Trowa was worth too much to gamble away my life any more. And thinking of Trowa made me feel a little bit guilty for having left him out of this and a lot guilty for having kept it a secret from him. That feeling only intensified when Barr's hands began an exploration of my body. "There's many an old enemy who'd trade his fortune for a chance at you," Barr murmured into my ear and fingering my hair. I grunted, "hn." I bet at the time 'Ro was admiring my self-control, if he was listening in. "It's amazing to me that you've retained this braid." I yanked it out of his hands. "I've retained lots of things, like some pride a-and the limits I don't go beyond." I felt Quat's eyes on me. I was acting! That stutter was an act! I wasn't nervous, really! "I recommend you stretch those limits. The big money is to be had beyond them." "I'm interested in the big money," Quat, or Qwin, assured him, drawing the other man's attention off me and onto him for the few more miles to Barr's underworld lair, with me hoping to hell Heero was tagging along. Okay, I was a bit nervous. "Bunker" best described the place, a pit carved out of an industrial area. According to the worn signs, the building once housed a local, small ice cream manufacturer. Now defunct. All underground once we passed the main doors, so what looked like an ordinary assembly plant hid his covert operations. This was the tricky part, or the first of several tricky steps. One of his henchmen stayed in the car, to park it, maybe. One other remained outside at the door, possibly a guard, leaving only one goon to play tail man as we followed Barr down about ten stairs to a wider hallway. I noted a few closed doors before Barr pushed up inside a sofa-lined room of moderate comfort. Quat sniffed. Definitely substandard lodging. Once we were inside, I had to devise a reason to separate so I could go hunting for evidence, while leaving Quat to fend for himself. Both of us had to place listening devices to gather other evidence, but the bugs were tiny and easy for guys like Quat, er, Qwin and me. 'Ro had been the one to supply us with the lithium battery listening devices. I figured he swiped them from Preventers, but didn't ask. The bugs could transmit audio surveillance over a long distance while drawing very low power output, and were the size of my little fingernail so we could put them in hard to view areas. "You look a little pale, Duo. Are you all right?" Quat's eyes swept from mine to the doorway. Nicely done. He'd given me my opening. Not that he couldn't think on his feet, but we'd already planned this out. "God, I don't know. My stomach... Is there a bathroom close?" I hoped to locate Barr's office with some data storage or files, either that or some of his other "kids" to pump for information, no pun intended. Really. "Go with him," Barr ordered a guard. He did not mean to leave me to wander alone. Too bad. On our way to the toilet, I counted a couple of intervening doors, one humming with a computer drive in need of a better fan for cooling, and the other marked "staffroom". The hall ended with what looked like a shuttle airlock door and was conveniently marked "ward." If the base was as small as I'd made it out to be, I bet the other recruits were behind door number three. "I don't think he meant you had to go in," I told the mean-faced man following me into the bathroom. I had to get rid of him. "I think he did," the man countered. Great. After I stuck a finger down my mouth and started chucking up my last meal, the guy exited, though. Heero'd given me a few other toys, just in case, and I made use of one immediately. I was afraid that the small bugs might not broadcast through the bunker, so I planted a transmitter signal power booster behind the toilet paper holder. First, I switched on the fan. I used that rattling noise and my groans to cover up what I was doing. Using my knife to lever the ceramic holder out of the wall went easily like, and then dropped in the transmitter. A bit of chewing gum spackled the holder back in place. "Testing, testing. If you can hear me, there's a driver, one guard outside at the door, and at least one inside with us and Barr, possibility of more I haven't seen. Gotta go." Good enough message. It would warn 'Ro to what to expect, and now I had one more thing to do. I poked my head out the door. My guard hadn't gone far. "You done?" "Don't think so. Can you get me a glass of water?" "Use the faucet." "You want me to get these germs all over the sink?" He did not. "Don't go nowhere." "Promise." I'd go somewhere. "Wish it could be coffee." "Wish all you like." He smiled meanly. "Maybe I'll get some for myself." You do that and take your time, asshole. How great a life could that guy be having that he felt he had to add grief to those even more unfortunate? Did it make him feel better? I hoped he'd get life imprisonment. He'd barely cleared the staffroom door before I'd slipped out and dashed back into the room I'd pegged to be the office. There, I found the thrumming, running computer, the monitor looking like an underwater scene with impossibly colorful fish swimming across the screen. I inserted a flash drive and fired up the download program for what amounted to a virus which would start a hidden background process, extracting files and transmitting them to a Preventers database via satellite. All 'Ro had to do now, if he was out there doing his part, and I didn't doubt he would, was verify the value of the data and help with our extraction. Thirty seconds felt like forever. I removed the flashdrive and stuffed it into a sock, and froze when I heard footfalls in the hall. I wanted to get back to Quat ASAP and relieve him of his onerous duty, but how? I cracked open the door. Two thugs were hanging around the john, my glass of water on the floor by the door. "Poor fucker's sick as a dog. He can come out for his own damn water. I ain't catching what he got." Damnit anyway! My duty-bound sentinel had returned and had brought a buddy to talk to. They stood outside the bathroom, while I was trapped in the office copying computer files. I wished the monitor would go back to "aquarium mode" to cover up for my activity, but it didn't. Guessing that it was just a matter of time till it did, I figured to cause another minor disturbance to excuse my whereabouts and get outta my jam. Time to pull another act outta my hat. I slumped against the door-jam while opening the door and groaned. "Fuck, where'd you hide the head?" Both men turned on me. "Whatcher doing in there?" the new one asked. My escort was staring back and forth from the water to me. Maybe he figured I owed it to him to drink it since he'd been so kind as to play fetch? I dunno, but he looked pretty stupid. I feigned illness like I was about to up-chuck again. "Get him in the john first," the man-in-the-know said, holding his coffee out of my reach. "Sure." Number two guard nearly wrenched my arm out of its socket, half carrying me there. "Thought I'd go back...find my pal--" I wavered in an attempt to look confused by where I was. "Look at the sign. Place you want say's 'MEN'. Can'tcher read?" "Ugh..." clenching at my gut more "...too many doors..." I shook my head and pushed into the bathroom, making as if I was gonna explode. "They don't teach'em their letters any more. Why bother?" "Just holes to me. Brought in donuts, if you're interested?" "He'll be busy for awhile." When I heard no more for awhile, I peeked out the door. The hall was clear. I raced back across the hall and stuck my head in the office to see if the monitor had returned to its screensaver mode, which it had. That's all I wanted to know. I opened and slammed the bathroom door as I passed by, knocking over the water, heh, heh. I was making no secret of having been "indisposed" and of my current whereabouts, not that anyone seemed to care at this point. I listened a moment in the hall just this side of the door to the first room we'd entered, where I hoped Quatre was-and that "Qwin" was still hearty and hale. "You left him alone?" Barr was yelling at one of the dumb goons, probably my luckless escort. "Punk's not going nowhere, seeing as he's pretty sick. Giff's out there." Heh, heh, Giff, eh? He still was stuffing himself full of donuts, was my guess. "He's not your ordinary whore. Don't leave him alone at all. Now, go!" Time for my entrance. I nearly got mowed down by Dumb Goon in his rush to do Barr's bidding, but danced aside so that he missed me by a whisker, and I managed to get a glimpse of Quat at the same time. He looked unharmed, easing my fears tremendously. "Vibrating jelly beads?" Qwin let the package dangle from his finger tips. "What do I do with this?" "Shove it up your ass." Qwin blanched. Oh, man. Looks like I'd returned not a moment too soon. I saw Barr out of the corner of my eye. He had that determined expression that made me think he wasn't above doing the shoving to get the job done. Quat, luckily still had his pants on, but his tiny t-shirt was on the floor with my jacket. Time to interrupt the action and conclude the evening's entertainment. "Man, I feel better!" I came in loud and stretching my arms wide, tapping a listening device in an old code that I hoped 'Ro would recall and hear as "bug out." "Though, I gotta tell ya, the accommodations are way too rustic if you're going for a high-class client." I winked Qwin's way and he returned a look of frank relief. Not that I didn't expect things to get dicey for a brief period, but with Quat and me on the inside and Heero Yuy on the outside-three capable ex-Gundam pilots-I was justifiably certain of a quick and favorable wrapping up. I was over-flowing with self-confidence. "So," I went on since I had the floor for the moment, "where we work out of? Some fancy-schmancy hotel? A club on the Royal Drive? Yacht?" Jet Barr's hands fisted and opened a few times. 'Ro did that, too, as a way of relieving tension, which meant I'd gotten under his skin, lifting that thin veneer of civility. Good. Maybe I could get him to spill some beans and make 'Ro's day with all the evidence he was collecting, and then we could bust outta this joint and go home. It was getting late and I didn't want to worry 'Tro. 'Course I shoulda told him what was up. Guilty conscience hold thy tongue! "Possibly. The contacts call me and I arrange the meeting times and places, usually at their residence." "So you call us and tell us where to go and when?" He laughed. "You get told, delivered, and returned." "What's so funny?" Quat asked, being a bit too perceptive, I thought. "You think you will retain a semblance of your independence. I can assure you, you'll be well taken care of and paid well, but you will be worked." I just bet. "By 'taken care of' you mean... what? Room and board? Medical? I'd like a look at the benefits package; I could really use dental and some might argue mental health." Okay, I was pushing pretty hard, but the guy was clever and holding his cards close to his chest still. His eyes shifted to the door. I looked but no one was there. Oh, but there was the room at the end of the hallway; what lay behind that? "There are dormitories on site. Food's brought in. If you require medical attention, it can be provided." The man had closed in on me, uncomfortably close. "I'll promise you prompt care. It's likely that there will be clients eager to get their hands on you and it's liable to become rough." "You mean violent." Did I mind violence? I think not, if I was the one doling it out. Ah, shit... I did mind. I didn't want brutal beatings or blood, mine or someone else's, on my hands or their hands. I wasn't a fighting machine anymore. "I'm not interested in letting anyone use my body to re-live their nightmarish war experiences or get retaliation for some real or imagined offenses that happened in combat. Nope. I ain't that desperate." His hands clamped down hard, holding me in place. "You are mine now, you and your pretty little boyfriend." Trowa!? I nearly when into a panic thinking they'd somehow nabbed Tro' and were holding him hostage. Man... No, he was thinking of Quatre. Geez, whatta fright that was! While I was distracted, he ripped my shirt over my arms, pinning them at the elbows. "Hold him!" Barr ordered a guard as he opened his pants. "Push him down, if he fights." "Why does he get all the fun?" Quin whined. "I'm much better." Ah, no, Quat...stay outta this. "Good. He can fuck you while you suck me off then." Not gonna happen! I fended off the guard, who hadn't been expecting any guff from me, seeing as I was just getting over my stomach ailment. "I really ain't in the mood. I came here for negotiations and then I got plans for the rest of my evening, if you get my drift." I added a rakish smile to look confident, as sure as actually I felt, and I was sure of my skills in this situation. I wasn't afraid for my honor or my life, but I didn't want to blow 'Ro's "mission" by having to fight my way out before he'd collected the information he needed. So, hadn't he gotten enough already? Barr backed off, nearly bowling me over with his sudden change of heart. He waved off the apes and I got in an elbow to the ribs of the one man-handling me. I made it look accidental, heh, heh, fooling no one. "I oughtta teach you a-" "Enough! Go get Gil and Maury." The stupid thug rubbed his side and glared, but obeyed his master like the dog he'd become. "I suppose I should show you the accommodations first." Barr gestured widely toward the hall. "This way." Names, finally some names. "So where's the commissary?" Maybe there were more rooms in this place than I'd seen. "This is not a military base, Maxwell. You have confused your future with your past." No, I hadn't. What is it about the word "military" that tenses up just about everyone? "I was just thinking of my stomach. I work better on a full one and I was thinking about a jumbo hot dog. There's nothing like a big hot sausage inside you on a cold night like this." Okay, not particularly original, but it got a couple laughs and loosened the guys up a bit. Gil and Maury stumbled out of the staff room and one of them unlocked the door to the "dormitory". No one was free to come and go, I guessed, and I said so. "They owe me," was all Barr said. That was one dank, dark, dreary place. I'd been caged by OZ during the war and nearly executed publicly more than once, so when I walked by the rank and file call-boys, lying listless on their metal cots, listening to music or playing cards, I thought one thing: jail, and felt a slip in my self-control. I fought down that barest rise of panic and felt my friend, Quatre, press close. "Not very luxurious, but it's clean. Hi, my name's Qwin." Quat held out a hand. I noticed his fingernails were in perfect repair, a dead giveaway that he wasn't a street kid. I hoped no one else was looking. One of the "boys" returned the shake limply. "Yo. Plaid." Plaid? That's a name? "Aiden, Tanner, Jay at the table, Darrel's in the john, and Philip and Tony are out." His brown eyes cast a curious glance over me. "You new?" His right leg was shackled to the cot he sat upon. Barr, I knew, wasn't an officer of the law. Regardless of what else was going down there, false imprisonment was against the law. "Yeah, I'm Duo. Checking out the position and place before signing on the line, so to speak. Nice leg manacle you got there." "Right." His eyes shifted around, landing on the boy he'd called Jay. Okay, 'Ro, get that? Seven guys in the harem, confined against their will, three guards inside and Barr. Now call in the agents! Quat joined Jay sitting at a metal table writing in a tiny note book. "It this where you eat?" The kid nodded, mute. Who could blame him? The place was depressing. Our being there was just reminding the other boys of the freedom they'd lost. Barr pointed out the locker room, where clothes and personal items were stored, and the showers and bathroom further on. We were already looking in that direction with the blast went off, blowing smoke and rubble in our direction. Quat and I hit the floor, taking with us as many of the kids as possible. Then the shooting and shouting began. TBC...
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