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"The Heist "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: 1x2x1 Summary: Duo's planning a robbery, considering a reality TV show, and falling for the man who can lock him up for good. Can his friends help him? Can he help himself? A/N: This story takes place in a universe more
like ours today, where the colonies exist on land, not in space, and
where the world is on the cusp of change. Thanks goes to Waterlily
for her tireless editing and thoughtful suggestions throughout. "The Heist " Chapter 13 - Large Scale Illusion Heero arose from the bed, found his trousers, and patted the pockets for his cell phone. The room was completely dark. Gone were the dramatic moonlight shadows on the comforter, which now covered all but the top of Duo's head. He left his slumbering lover with a great deal of reluctance fully intending to seek advice. He traversed the palace from the guest wing to the royal wings, while typing, one finger picking out the letters at high speed, an explanatory note to the princess for his intrusion. He had given his dilemma a great deal of thought. He had sensed for some time that Duo was up to something and felt the "something" centered heavily on the upcoming unlikely combination of characters and events. Wanting to save Duo from risking his neck meant that Heero would have to stop him from carrying out his plans. If only he knew what those plans were! Short of asking him directly (and he would have done it nicely, not a brutal cross-examination, maybe, but, sadly, it was too late now, the window of opportunity having passed) he had few choices of who else might know something. He finished his text message, pushed "send", and tugged at a handful of hair in frustration. He should have just pressed Duo for information after sex. He had intended to do it-was that just a few hours ago? That had been his aim. But. It just didn't seem right. He'd fallen in love. He hadn't been able to question him after making love to him, and no good would come from criticizing himself for his weakness now. It was his job to protect the princess, first, and the prince and palace second. But, damn, he was going to throw protecting his lover into that duty list as well! He stopped walking and knocked at a door. It opened a crack. "Who is it?" "Princess Relena, it's Heero." "Oh!" The princess opened the door to her outer room and looked past him and side to side. "You came alone?" "Yes. I left you a message. I have a problem." "A message? I haven't been paying attention to my phone, Heero. I'm sorry, but can't this wait until the morning? It's been a busy night." "No, it can't. I won't be long." "All right, then." She waved him into the sitting room, scanning her text messages as she closed the door. "Your message isn't very informative." He thought it was, but there was nothing to be gained by arguing. "I'll fill you in now." Before taking a seat on the velvet settee, he glanced around and caught a glimpse of a man's dress suit coat in the coat closet, and the glittering bracelet on Relena's wrist, even though she appeared to have come from bed. Her hastily tied robe and tousled hair certainly made it seem as if she'd come from bed. He wasn't naïve. Obviously the woman had invited a man into her boudoir, and he could guess who. "Attractive bracelet," he said. "Thank you," she replied automatically. The tiniest frown formed a crease between her neatly tweezed brows. "It was a gift. From the Governor of L2. That's not part of why you woke me up, I hope?" "No. I'm in charge of your safety here, and I have the feeling, a bad feeling, that the palace is about to be...attacked." "That's not surprising, Heero. You accompanied me to the conference where the new Alliance threat was the main topic of conversation." She crossed her arms across her chest. "And tell me, Heero, since when did you start letting feelings frame your decisions?" He looked at his hands, imagining how they looked as a child, holding a gun and being told to "follow your feelings" by his hit-man guardian. "Feelings for me never caused you to change your course of action." Her voice had dropped to a whisper. Frustration erupted. "You reference an imaginary romance while I am trying to explain a gut feeling!" Flashing blue eyes met his as her temper flared. "Get to your point then, guard." Yes, he wanted to protect Duo, but he also wanted to serve her as well, and angering her wasn't intentional. "Sorry. I can't put this any clearer than that. I have no proof, but my instincts tell me the Sanc palace is targeted." "Men's intuition for danger?" she said letting the sarcasm seep through. "Never heard of it. My dear friend Dorothy, though, mentioned something along those same lines tonight. That the chaos leaves us open to strike or some sort of incident. I disagree." "But-!" "These are all well-known people, some even my friends, clearing the palace, performing, and, yes, even filming-" Right, that! "What do you know about the television people coming here? What are they filming? I received very limited instructions, and those were to leave them alone." "They are filming the circus performance, silly! It's in the circular I sent out. AOK Broadcasting Company has the rights re-broadcast the show to other parts of the city for those not invited. We only invite children from the less fortunate schools, you know." "Yes, yes." He didn't want to get waylaid onto a philanthropic discussion and had to steer her back on track fast. "But you agree that with so much happening at once, my job of protecting you will be that much harder." "Oh, I do, and I appreciate your concern, Heero, but the New Alliance will not be attacking us tomorrow. I think the best application of your skills will be put to use minding the children at the performance. Now, I am very tired and have a busy schedule tomorrow." Relena pushed her honey-colored hair away from her face, baring, for a moment, an ivory shoulder. She adjusted her robe, saying, "Good night." There was nothing to it but to take his orders and leave. "Yes, ma'am." So, Relena didn't know anything was up. What was Duo's role then? He'd told him that he'd be helping his friend with the circus. Well, Heero would keep his eye on that and follow orders and hope he stopped Duo before he did anything illegal, if he was going to. Heero wasn't so certain it wasn't all in his imagination now. Especially when Duo looked so innocent, so appealing lying there in bed. Heero tossed his clothes on the floor and slipped between the sheets and right into Duo's warmth. With a few more hours until daylight, getting more sleep was his highest priority. (o) He stirred, rose, and made a trip to the bathroom and a shower. When he returned, he could smell freshly brewed coffee and roses. On a table by the window, breakfast was laid out. Tiny clusters of blush-pink roses decorated a vase. Duo was still in bed, but awake and sitting up. Heero stood in the middle of the room gazing in absent-minded wonder at the wish-list scene, which contained everything he could possibly want. It was then that Duo cast his feet over the edge of the bed and moved his way, very much a vision of his own. His brown hair, freed from its binding, hung loose, draping over his shoulders and bare chest. He wore about his neck a gold cross on a chain and on his body, nothing. His violet-blue eyes blazed at the sight of him. He was on his feet and at his side moments later. "Good morning," Duo said, running his hands up both of Heero's arms. "Morning to you. I didn't think you'd be an early bird." "I'm not, but you were gone, the bed was cold and this cute delivery boy brought us food." "He's not still here, is he?" Heero's glance swept the room for signs of lurking delivery boys. "You want him to be? Because I'll let you in on a secret-I'm not into threesomes, sweetcakes." "Nor am I. I was just asking." Heero smiled and Duo smiled back. Heero let him draw him over to the table and push him backward into a chair. Duo draped himself across his lap, using one hand to play with the small hairs on the back of his neck. "If we opened the curtains all the way, we could catch the sunrise." He lowered his lips to Heero's and pressed a kiss on him. Heero kissed him back, briefly, and then said, "I'll pass on the sunrise." "Fine with me." "There is something I'd like." Duo kissed an ear. "Now?" Heero chuckled. "Not that. I do want to eat, but I'd like some clothes. Pants at least." Duo hopped off. "Okay. One order of pants, coming up." They both pulled on shorts and the pants they'd worn the night before, and then sat in the comfortable armchairs to eat. "Did you order this?" Heero asked. "Yeah, it was an option: room service or the dining hall. I figured we could splurge and draw out our time together this way." "Good choice." "If you want your regular uniform delivered, I can call that in," Duo told him. Tempting as that was, Heero declined. "My shift begins in fifteen minutes. I'll change back at the barracks." "Oh, okay." Duo dropped his fork and pushed away his plate. "So much for a leisurely start to the day." "I had the choice of last night or this morning. Was I wrong?" "No. Last night was awesome." Heero felt a strong hand wrap around his. He felt so connected to the other man, so complete. He wished he could make the knot of unease and uncertainty go away. "I thought so, too." He stood, pulling Duo up off his lap, holding him in his arms in a show of strength. He liked the feel of Duo clinging to him, chuckling, as he sucked on his lower lip. He ended the romantic gesture with a gentle kiss and set Duo on his feet. "Maybe later?" And instead of the ready positive reply Heero expected, Duo stalled. "Um, ah, let's see how the day goes before making any plans." Yeah, he was putting him off, all right. Heero just nodded curtly. "You'll be around the circus acts?" "That's the plan." Damn if the man didn't look guilty! He didn't want to part with bad feelings, so he carefully worded his next remarks to convey some level of trust in his lover. "I have rounds to do inside the palace, and then I am to stay around the circus area to see that the TV crew stays within the security guidelines. So I'll see you?" "Yeah, I'll be pretty busy, but we might cross paths. You're concerned about the TV guys?" Heero tried not to measure the intensity of Duo's apprehension, but it was there; it registered by the agitated twisting of the tip of his braid and the hard edge to his voice. "The Chang Antiquities Company, Winner and his sisters - those are known and trusted entities who will be at work here." He paused to smile. "Even the circus performers don't bother me." Duo relaxed his shoulders and released his braid. Heero felt rewarded by the return of his smile, weak but present. "The freaks don't freak you out, heh?" "No. They've never brought problems in the past, and knowing that Trowa is a friend of yours helps." He gauged the effect of his words on Duo and decided the conversation was going well. "Who I am not comfortable to have milling about the palace is the AOK television people." "Oh?" He couldn't interpret Duo's reaction, so he continued on with what he'd planned to say. "So, I wonder if you'd do me a favor?" "If I can, sure." "If you notice the TV guys doing anything...suspicious, like entering the palace without an escort or, oh, I don't know... snooping around? Just give me a call. Okay?" The blood rushed to his face, which, again, Heero wasn't sure how to read. "You trust me?" Duo asked. "Yes." Heero hoped he was right, that Duo just might stay out of trouble to please him. Maybe. It was worth a try, wasn't it? Duo rushed at him. "God, Heero!" Their mouths joined and limbs intertwined. Duo's strong fingers massaged up and down his back, their bare chests, hard and firm, pressed together so hard that Heero felt the cross and chain. Would they leave an impression, he wondered? And then his phone alarm signaled that is was time for him to go. "I have to-" "-go, I know. So do I." With that, Heero collected his clothes, buttoned on the shirt, and carried his dress jacket, gloves, and hat. "We will see each other afterwards," Heero insisted. Duo nodded but didn't really meet his eyes. That cursory agreement was all he'd get, so it would have to do, Heero decided, and then left the room. He ran to the barracks and changed into his everyday uniform. He was behind schedule but there was nothing he could do about that except move quickly. His heels clicked on the wood floors, rugs already rolled away for cleaning. Walls laid bare showed worn spots, faded areas where paintings were missing. He heard a hard-edged voice bark out orders at low volume, and found a man about his own age standing in a room, black hair tied back in a ponytail. At the sound of Heero's footsteps, the man turned to face him, and he could tell the man was ethnically Chinese, and with a definite military bearing. Young as he was and perfectly groomed in his business suit, Heero felt he'd look just as correct in fatigues holding a machine gun. He'd seen a fighter so very much like him before, in fact. "Careful with that! It's priceless!" "Chang of Chang Antiquities?" Heero asked. "Obviously. I'm busy, as you can see, so unless there is a pressing security problem you can't put off until later-?" "We haven't met before." Heero offered his hand and a card. "I'm Heero Yuy. I won't get in your way; I'm here to provide security. Should you need me or see anything suspicious, this is my contact number." Mr. Chang examined his face before taking the card. "Yuy. Yes. Thank you." There wasn't a look of recognition exactly, but of something else, possibly understanding, and then the man stepped back. "I do not expect to encounter any problems," Chang said. "Nor do I," Heero said and left the man to his work. To his surprise, Heero ran into the prince helping guide a large canvas into a storage crate of remarkably fine craftsmanship. "Can I help you with that, sir?" Milliardo gestured for him to move on. "Just lending a hand. There." He patted the crate and another minion hefted it away. "I'm sure they appreciate the help," Heero told him. "It is my job, actually," the prince said, tossing stray strands of his platinum hair over his shoulder. "Protecting the assets of my kingdom. I am used to an active life and this makes me feel... useful." Heero smiled, unsure how to respond. He wasn't comfortable holding a conversation with the man, at all, considering their entangled, past histories. "Should you need me-?" "Yuy? Yes, I have your security number on autodial. Thank you. And now I must run. I'm running late for my salon appointment." "Yes, well," Heero murmured. He'd been politely dismissed. "At your service, sir." He bowed and hurriedly took his leave. He could have sworn he heard chuckling behind him. "Glad to have provided some entertainment," he muttered. He watched the prince exit the building and jump into his Miata convertible the instant a servant drove it around to the door. "Nice to have time on your hands," he said to no one and then marched away to see how Relena's packing was coming along. After the no-nonsense efficiency of the Chang Antiquities packing, Heero was confounded by the bubbling exuberance filtering out of the private wings. How would the job ever be done if women were playing games in there? Boxes labeled with the contents like "evening shoes", "travel gloves", and "Pink hat #4" lined the hall leading to Relena's suite. A man wearing unusual clothes and an ID badge permitting him security to come and go freely from the palace, lifted a stack of boxes laden with coat bags and carried them to a side exit door. Holding it open was another similarly dress man who on seeing Heero snapped him a salute before stepping aside to let the other man pass. "Palace Security!" Heero shouted. "May I see your identification?" The man at the door shrugged and in a heavily-accented voice said, "Of course. Please see Master Winner, though for our permits." Taking the card from "Amir Habib", Heero couldn't make out a word of the ornate script. He did recognize the Winner Corporation insignia adorning the man's badge, and returned the card. "Thank you. How many employees of Mr. Winner are here today?" he asked, doing his own visual count-four. "Ten. Master Winner has all the names and a complete accounting of us all for your convenience." Amir smiled broadly, showing a mouthful of over-large teeth, and then disappeared out the door. Ten! Heero wanted to find Quatre and make sure these were his employees, so he walked into the main room. He passed over the handsome, young corporate executive twice before registering that the young blond in the rolled up shirtsleeves, jeans, and sandals was Quatre Winner, and then only because he jumped to his feet and ran up to him. "Heero! I'm so glad you stopped by. I wasn't certain if I'd get to see you today, and I so wanted to introduce you to some of my sisters!" Some? There were six nearly identical ladies in this room, who, from Heero's trained eye, resembled Quatre. Were these his sisters? "First, tell me, the men wearing the red fez hats are your employees?" "Yes! Sorry, but everyone is so busy today. The man in charge of the movers, Rashid, now... where did he go?" "That's all right, Mr. Winner, if you'll just give me a list of their names. All... ten of them? Is that the correct number-?" "Call me Quatre, please. We are friends, aren't we?" "Yes, but I'm on the job now." "And I am not. This is my day off! Ha, hah, ha...! So, let me introduce you here to a few of my sisters. I have 26." "Sisters?!" Heero felt Quatre was pulling his leg. "You're kidding me." "Oh, no, he isn't," one of the ladies said, leaving the closet and coming closer. "I'm Iria." Heero was shaking her hand when Quatre stepped in to complete the introductions. "Iria, meet one of Relena's elite guards, Heero Yuy." "Twenty-six is... a lot," Heero said, feeling stupid after making such a vapid remark. "It is, but only our little brother and the sisters that are here today share the same mother," Iria told him with sparkling blue eyes the color of Quatre's. "Our father had seven wives." Heero, a little stunned to learn Quatre's father had seven wives, wondered at the man's sheer stamina, which was an embarrassing thing to think about and caused the blood to rush to his face. He hated his blush response. The sisters all giggled and said adoring things about "shy Heero" to the point that he had to scuttle away to retain any dignity at all, or at least carry it away with him. How could Quatre stand it all, the flouncy dresses, the packing, the giggling and squealing of flighty females and be so cheerful?! Well, they were his family. Possibly that explained it. Fresh air was what he needed, so he headed for the door, hoping to run into Duo. A fine mist chilled his hot face, which felt great, but if it turned into rain, that could end the acrobatic acts, at the very least. He thought he'd see how the circus was holding up and how it dealt with the weather. Costumed folks dashed here and there, intent on their own business. He looked around for a familiar face, Duo or Trowa, and was disappointed not to see either one. Resigning himself to wandering around on his own, sucked all the pleasure out of his job. And then he remembered Quatre had never given him that list of his men, or an accounting of them! He was about to turn back when he heard his named called. "Heero! Hi! Remember me, Catherine? Trowa's sister? My soup?" Oh. That. "Yes, hello." "Trowa told me to be on the lookout for you and you're the only palace guard I've seen set foot out of the building." "Why? Is he looking for me?" Heero asked, hopefully. "Oh, no, he's busy. Busy, busy, bizzzz-zzzeee. No, he asked me to show you around." She linked her arm with his and led him under the tent, and from there on out, he listened as she chattered on about the circus. "Our entertainers have come from all over the world, including a chair balancing act from the Moscow State Circus, a trapeze artist who is also a master magician and illusionist from L3." "Who's that?" Heero asked. "Trowa Barton." She smiled and jabbed at his side with an elbow. "You could have guessed that." "He was feeding the big cats when I first saw him. He's not an animal trainer?" "No, he's not, but he likes to take care of them. Everyone has to do many jobs at the circus." "Where are the animals?" "The only big animals we brought today are the horses, llamas and trained dogs. No man-eaters or elephants. To see those you have to go to the big show. They are just too much work to bring for a single performance. Properly caring for these animals creates quite an expense, so for economic reasons our circus often tours without them. One of our acts, not to be missed, features a miniature dancing horse..." Heero half-listened to her commentary as he continued to observe the circus crew preparing for the arrival of the children of Sanc. In the distance, he could see the brightly colored circus train, the crated animals and equipment being moved into place on the palace grounds, the damp flag barely flapping atop the tent. "And if it rains?" he interrupted. Catherine made a face. "What a killjoy you are!" Maybe he was, but as it started to rain lightly, he wondered where Duo was. The noise of a different kind and a tangle of heavy cables drew his attention to where the television crew was setting up-in the opposite direction they'd been walking. Had it been intentional? It did seem as if she had been leading him further and further away from the bustle. Paranoid or not, it was his job to follow up on his suspicions. "Thank you for the informative tour, but I have to get on with my perimeter check. Excuse me," he said and stepped away, putting as much distance between him and Trowa's chatty sister as he could, as fast as he could. There was something he'd been about to do. It was just out of reach of his brain. Something he had been about to collect. Some list. And then he spied a lineup of the Sanc guard, intently watching the television company's activity. Strings of lights and large spotlights hovering like giant eyes on tall stalks were linked by bright yellow power cables, microphones on long booms, and cameras, several of them, all manned by a massive crew of men and women, hundreds it seemed at first. The guard watched the activity, but not with an eye to security, Heero thought. No one was asking for ID's! He marched up to one of his co-workers and demanded, "Richards, have you identified everyone working here?" "Um, not yet, sir." Heero saw a small figure open a side door. "Look there! Who was that entering the palace?" "Ah, she looked to be a palace servant, from the dress and the alarm didn't go off." "But you don't know! No, don't go after her. I will. You stay by this door and maintain security." Heero swung about and shouted at the other guards ogling the TV glamor. "Start collecting ID's! Do your jobs!" He huffed off hoping he wasn't too late to catch up with the secretive figure, and ran directly into a tall man he identified immediately. Mr. Treize Khushrenada, wearing his visitor ID badge prominently on his lapel. "Watch where you are going young man! Do you think I'm a door?" "A door? No, I'm sorry. I'm in a hurry. If you'll excuse me, I'm after a potential criminal." He wasn't really, but it sounded like a good enough justification to Heero. Concentrating on his quarry meant he didn't give the phenomenon the attention it deserved. And it was a phenomenon worth noting. It was rare that producer Mr. Khushrenada, who was also the corporate president of AOK Broadcasting Company, made an appearance at an ordinary television filming. What had the man been doing in the palace building, he wondered? He hadn't even asked him! Heero spun around just in time to see the man exiting the door. Just inside were the guest Men's and Ladies' restrooms, probably the nearest ones to the filming. Explanation enough for now. He had surveillance tapes to look over and right now, an unidentified intruder to locate! Which direction to go?
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