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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 15 - Do As I Do "Hi!" Duo smiled into Heero's eyes. He'd done the best he could. Heero stopped Duo from taking another step. "You are under arrest." "Aw, 'Ro, you don't haveta do this." "I do. You see, while the TV cameras were filming what I assume was the robbery of the crown jewels, most of the palace guards were watching the circus. Almost all the guards. One dedicated young man saw you and the backpack and the film crew on top of the palace roof. He reported what he saw or thought he saw and the report worked its way up the ranks to finally stop with me. It's my duty to advise you of your rights at this time-" "Hold on! I've heard that song and dance enough to recite it myself. Save your breath and hear me out." "All right." "Right. Now, I realize things won't change overnight, and by 'overnight' I mean 'ever,' but I'd like to offer you and your gang of guards a helpful hint that I've picked up along the way, and perhaps, between all of us, nothing will change." Heero drew his breath and let it out slowly. "Ready?" Duo asked, impatience personified. "Duo, if this is just an attempt to waste my time, then-" "It's not!" Duo could not keep the touch of desperation out of his voice. "Honest!" "Honest?!" Heero practically spat out the word. "You deceive me and then expect me to just take you at your word now? You have absurd ideas about trust." "Maybe, maybe not. 'Ro, just... look at the goods before you make a decision." Before turning his focus on the contents of Duo's backpack and what Duo was doing, Heero scanned the area around them. A knot of uniformed guards standing nearby were being filmed and one appeared to being answering questions in an interview, which was totally unauthorized by Heero. Rather than yell at Duo, he saw a way to vent his anger and ordered the palace guardsmen, "Shape up! Do your jobs!" At that moment, a cameraman eased in close between Heero and Duo, nudging the guard in the ribs, and asked them to speak up, "A little louder, please." "Get these cameras out of the way, or I will shoot them!" Heero exploded with a vehemence that made Duo recoil away from him, putting a couple feet of neutral ground to buffer Heero's ire-which on second look might require more of a demilitarized zone between them. The camera flew up and out of his way. A close pocket of palace guards jumped to action and pushed back the television crew, who had been filming everything up until that time. Heero continued to bark out instructions, "clear and secure the area" being emphasized as well as "exercise proper procedures". When Heero appeared to have finished dispersing unwanted people from the area, Duo hastily removed his backpack and started unzipping the compartments. "Rain won't hurt these," he assured Heero, "so don't worry." "What do you mean?" Heero leaned over to look as a scepter of the realm appeared. If Duo heard his gasp, well, who could blame him for being impressed? Who wouldn't be? "Awesome, huh?" "Put that away!" Heero ordered. "You gotta see something first, 'Ro. Get close and lookit this mark," Duo said, turning the jewel-encrusted staff over in his hands until Howard's emblem came into view. "See that? That means it's a copy. Howard Sweeper made all these," Duo patted the bag by his feet, "so only copies are in public view while the real ones are kept safe. You can call him, if you don't believe me." "I will," Heero guaranteed him as he inspected the mark. He glanced into the backpack, but seemed reluctant to poke around. "You're telling me that all of these are replicas?" "The expert has spoken. Examine them to your heart's desire. Geez, 'Ro, I was making a reality show, not looting the palace!" "The jewels are all fakes?" Why didn't you tell me? "Damned straight! Not only that, the TV production company has this legal department that said everything would be cool. They got permits for me to be here and take these and everything." "You don't believe you've committed a crime?" "Hell no!" Duo stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Of course, the TV folks think these are the real deal. I didn't trust them 100 percent, you see, so I made sure they weren't." He smiled hopefully. "Just in case they fell into the wrong hands? But anyway, they think they're real- no excitement in stealing replicas, no doubt- so I'd like to hide the truth from them for the time being. I'm holding out hope that I'll get paid eventually." If Duo was expecting forgiveness and a smile out of Heero, he was certain to be disappointed. None was forthcoming. Quite the opposite. "No legal department ever contacted the princess or her staff-she would have informed me! No one cleared anything, except the right to video the circus performance," the guard said. Why, oh why, didn't you tell me? "You're kidding me? I gotta contract that says they did... or should have... or will, I guess. And before you ask me, the answer is: No, the contract's not on me. But there's no harm done, right? This shit ain't worth squat and it can all be put to rights. And from the way your guards are chatting up the video crew, they certainly appear flattered to be in the show and play along." Heero's face darkened with anger. "Do you have a mental problem?" He had not anticipated Heero questioning his sanity. That just rubbed Duo the wrong way. "Why? Do you want one?" he retorted. And that snarky remark tipped the scales for the Sanc Elite Guardsman and he ripped into his friend. "You lied to me, withheld information from me, mislead me, and insulted me. Don't you comprehend... anything? Without mutual trust and respect, we have no relationship!" "What? No! Hey, are you breaking up with me? I mean, don't hold anything back here. You gonna put me in chains? You always wanted to see me in cuffs and at your mercy, didn't ya?" No, Duo didn't know when to shut up sometimes. In the background, Relena finished her speech, thanking the circus for putting on the fine show and the children for coming, and wishing for everyone to return next year, to a round of cheers and applause. "You give me no choice, Duo," Heero said, and he didn't sound as if he relished the moment. (o) A sidelong glance revealed that Relena had finished her speech and was thanking the circus, the television crew and saying goodbye to the children. The rain had stopped and the clouds parted sending a shaft of light to illuminate the princess. She was still wearing the beautiful sapphire and diamond bracelet, the generous gift from Governor Solomon, and looked all aglow. And happy. At least someone was having a good day. Heero scanned in the other direction and noticed how the circus was being dismantled in a flash; animals were already being loaded onto the awaiting train cars. His feelings were raw, his heart bleeding and in pain. He felt generally annoyed, strangely left out, and seriously duped. He had gotten into an argument with Duo, said some means things, broken up, and was now on the brink of arresting his ex-boyfriend and throwing him in jail. And this after the most passionate and comforting night together! How did this debacle all happen? Oh, his ex-boyfriend was a liar and a thief. A burglar. A little crook, through and through. And completely unrepentant about it, too! He felt a cold chill down his back and nearly ripped his uniform jacket getting at his smartphone to check for security breaches. None. How did Duo break in and not set off the security system? Well, hadn't he noticed it was off when he ran into that Hilde girl-a friend of Duo's?! Dear God! Then the Khushrenada man... he'd let that intrusion just pass! And Winner's list of employees! He hadn't followed up on any of it! He was a failure. Violations, interlopers trespassing-and all while he was on duty... in charge! He thought about the palace and what it must look like now. Empty. Empty! Duo may not have stolen the crown jewels, but his friends-and Winner and Barton and Chang probably, too, were his friends-had taken every treasure from the palace! A conspiracy! They'd heisted it all right under his nose! He'd been right. He'd known something was going down last night. He could take some satisfaction in that. Some. Very little, as the palace was ransacked anyway. Heero knew what action had to be taken. It might not be too late to undo the damage. He sent out an emergency call to his men. "Guards! Emergency lockdown! No one is to leave the premises! God damn it, I'll stop all departing trucks, trains- and planes, if necessary! Guards- mumph!" A small, soft-skinned hand covered his mouth. "That won't be necessary, Heero. By my command, retract those orders." He had to cancel his orders and withdraw his men from the perimeters. The princess was his ultimate superior to whom he answered. He nodded and she removed her hand so he could contact the other guards. "Yuy speaking. New orders. Stand down. I repeat, rescind the previous orders and allow free passage to all persons. That doesn't mean to neglect procedures. Check for valid ID! Be alert to any threat," he added weakly as a face-saving measure. "I don't understand. There's a threat. A-" He tried to think of how to word what he wanted to say so she would grasp the magnitude and the gravity of the situation. All her things were gone, but then she'd been a part of that, actually, and even seen to her personal packing. On second thought, he decided not to bring that up. Well, anyone could see that all the palace artwork, paintings, sculptures, and art treasures were gone, but then Chang's company handled them- arguably, not everything at once- but he took some of them away and returned them every year. So, maybe that wasn't that alarming by itself. There were the crown jewels to be reckoned with, but... those probably were just replicas. He remembered having heard - or had he read it?- about a Howard Sweeper with mention of counterfeits on display, which meant that Duo most likely had told him the truth about those and that the items were most likely knock-offs in Duo's bag. Even if they were the real thing, they were right there at their feet. Not much to get excited over. So. So, he hadn't anything very new or important to announce as it turned out, but he just knew things weren't right. "Why?" he asked her simply. "There is no reason to get excited, Heero." "But... things... have been...taken." "Of course! Now, Quatre and his sisters are waiting for me and you are not going to insult my friends or inconvenience them after all the hard work they have done. If you must, you can search us all and our belongings as we leave the building-very discretely!" Heero moved to do just that, but her hand on his arm stopped him. "Don't make a scene, Heero." Apparently, he was supposed to see the sarcasm in her offer to search her friends? Or take it from her that they weren't stealing the crown jewels. He knew that wasn't possible. "Take this." She handed over a thick envelope. He looked over the envelope and found it plain and uninformative. "What's this?" he asked. "Formal instructions, with both my signature and my brother's. And the proof we needed that the New Alliance was making its first move on our assets. Protect that document with your life." "Yes, I will, Princess Relena." This was a solemn charge he understood and would comply with. "Thank you, Heero. Here are my commands to you, leader of my palace guard: guard and protect the circus people and clear the area of any remaining civilians." "We are doing that. That's my job and I know it." "I know you do, Heero, and I that's why I trust you without reservations to carry out these final orders. You are holding all the authorization you need in your hands." "Final orders? What do you mean?" "Listen, this is terribly important and it is critical that you don't question my motives. Do you understand?" "Yes and I am accountable to you and you only." "That's right, so I'll tell you very briefly what you have to know. You absolutely must make certain the circus train leaves safely and then dismiss the guards to clear their barracks of personal things and leave the palace grounds. And then you leave, too." "You want me to leave the palace unprotected?" She leaned in to whisper, "There is nothing left to protect. The staff has all left with the Maguanac Corps escort. And there is nothing of any value remaining... anywhere." She stood back. "Get to safety and let me know where you go-and do it through Quatre Winner." "But I can't...! I swore an oath!" "- which you shall keep. You have new orders. You see, Mr. Khushrenada has revealed his true intentions to lead the vanguard into the palace, prior to an eventual takeover of the kingdom. Read what's in this; it explains it all, but do it later! Oh, and be wary of anyone working for the television company-any of them may have allegiance to the New Alliance. Pretend you suspect nothing, that you don't know which of them play a role in the plot. If you feel like it, you may invite them to tour the palace on their own, but only after the circus train has left and you have evacuated all the guard." "But... why didn't you trust me with this information last night when I came to you with my concerns? Why wasn't I included from the start?" Anguished look must have struck directly to her heart because she smiled and gazed on him tenderly. "Because I didn't know then. Oh, my dear, dear Heero. I wouldn't delude you. I only just found out myself a few hours ago, when this final confirmation was delivered. It looks like both you and I have been kept in the dark by our friends." She turned toward Duo, acknowledging his existence for the first time. "When we first met, Mr. Maxwell, I wasn't sure what kind of man you were. Honest, but with the most impish smile! But you know how to choose your friends, and they all speak highly of you, so I'd like to include you as one of my friends as well." Duo rose to his feet. As before, he kissed her outstretched hand. "The honor is all mine. Thank you, princess." He straightened and looked her in the eye, and then broke into a grin and winked. "Nice rocks, by the way. L2's finest, if I'm any judge of sapphires." She giggled, sounding as youthful as she really was, and held up her wrist to show off the bracelet. "You know your gems, Mr. Maxwell. Governor Solomon, Solo," a splendid blush graced her features when she said his name, "asked that I pass along his thanks and well wishes." "Heh, heh, yeah... call me Duo, if you, ah, please, and tell him it was all my pleasure, next time you see him." "Next time-? Oh!" She giggled more and turned back to Heero. "I am so glad you have a friend like Duo. Maybe he can help you find a place to hide when you leave here?" Heero didn't know what to say to that. He had been listening, fitting new information into his mental puzzle of what was going on, and watching a familiar blond head bobbing their way. "Excuse me." Quatre patted her on the shoulder. "Princess? We can't delay any longer. It is time to go." He met Heero's confused and angry glare. "She'll be safe and the prince will be too, if you do what she's asked. You have my word; I'll protect her, Heero." Quatre reached out, and Heero took the offered hand, and said, "I'm holding you to it, Winner. Tell me, do you know if Barton will be on that train?" Quatre made one shallow dip of his chin, "Yes," and then turned away to gather his sisters. "Mission accepted." Heero had said it in a voice so low he wasn't certain the other man had heard, but then Quatre turned back and flashed a quick smile over his shoulder. "I trust you, despite what you might think, Heero." Relena pulled his head down and kissed his cheek. "I'm relying on you to do your duty, and together we will preserve the Sanc Kingdom. You'll see." And then she left, joining the cluster of blonds flanked by four, dark-complexioned Maguanacs. His mind was a flurry of questions and confusion, but out of it came the clear path laid out for him, his duty. First there was Duo to deal with. "You heard all that, so you know I have more urgent business than to police you. I- I don't know what to do about you right now. Just stay put." Duo didn't say a word, a good thing, since all it seemed he could do was incriminate himself or get Heero angry; he folded his arms across his chest and stared past Heero into the vague distance. Next, Heero sent a new communication out to the other guards, directing them to continue clearing the television workers from the area, preferably outside the palace gates, and to assist the circus or the train crew in any way possible. When he checked, Duo had collapsed into a broody heap next to his backpack. At least he hasn't tried to make a run for it Heero scrutinized everything and everybody within his sight range for Trowa amongst the circus personnel, and spotted Hilde giving one of the film crew a hug. He continued to watch her run over to greet Duo. "Hey, I'm getting a ride on the train. Blowing this town and running away with the circus. Hey, you look a little down, Duo." She glared at Heero, daring him to defend himself. "Trouble in paradise?" Duo studied his backpack. "Um, yeah. I think I'm on my own." Fearlessly, like a mother bear protecting her cub, Hilde confronted Heero. "What's the matter with you? Aren'tcha gonna take care of the smart, hot thief?" For Heero, her accusations added to his earlier frustrations, becoming the last in a long a series of annoyances and disappointments that stretched his endurance beyond the limit and led directly to his final loss of patience, temper, trust, and hope. And Duo's smug smile in reaction to "smart, hot, thief", acted like a match in the powder barrel. "If he's so good," Heero snapped, "how come he lives in a dive?" "You said you liked it," Duo muttered. And Heero had liked it! "Why is he living in such an awful place?" Hilde cried out. "Duo gives nearly everything he earns to the L2 orphanage he came from and to help the cause-you stupid asshole! Good thing you are not together anymore, Duo. You can do so much better." "Stay outta this, Hilde." Duo and Hilde maintained a silent standoff for thirty tense seconds, then she shrugged it off. "Well, you can come with me, is all I'm saying." Heero could see the gears turning in his mind, working out the implications of what she'd said. "You're leaving Greg behind?" Duo asked. "Yeah, he's-," her eyes slid sideways to look at Heero. Whatever she'd been about to say became revised in order to finish her thought. "He and I are coming from opposite sides of the game, so to speak. Too bad, but that's the way it goes. We're tough people, Duo." "Yeah," he said quietly. "You talk too much, Hil." "Yeah, yeah, yeah... Oh! I almost forgot! Thanks for the money, by the way. I'm betting it's all I'm gonna get from this gig. Word is, these TV guys are gonna stiff me on the show 'cause they don't like how it's turning out. So, once again, you're the only one that's came through for me." She kissed him quickly. "So, coming with?" He shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. Go on. Say hi to Tro' for me, okay?" "I will! Cute guy. Too bad he's gay and all. Well... Come see me any time. Take care, sweetie!" she called out and, after tossing him an air-kiss, dashed away. Heero had been listening, but his eyes were on the TV crew, the Greg person in particular. The hurt in his heart was subsiding fast. He had come to the conclusion that Duo and all his friends had fought on the rebel side in the war, and still were aggressively working toward colonial sovereignty. That didn't bother him, but considering his position in the Sanc kingdom, working for the government, he could see that it might appear to Duo and the others that he had been fighting for the opposition. No wonder Duo would want to keep many of his activities to himself and not tell him in particular! Until they crossed this abyss of ideologies, they would continue to have trust issues. He was at fault as much as Duo, actually. He couldn't tell Duo what he should know, because he was bound by honor not to reveal that information without the consent of the other man involved. Short of that, though, couldn't he do something to show Duo he was on his side? Yes, he could. He could try. "Is that the Greg who punched you?" he asked Duo. "Yeah. Whattaya doing?" Heero dragged Duo with him. "Getting even." He found Greg and pulled him aside. "This the guy who hit you, right?" Duo nodded. "Yeah." "This is for hitting my boyfriend." Heero hauled off and clocked the man good, catching his arm and lowering him to the ground. "Here," Duo said as he dropped the heavily-loaded backpack at Greg's feet. "Just to show there's no hard feelings. Give that to your supervisor and I'll bet you'll get a promotion." Until TK figures out it's not real. Greg didn't say anything until Duo and Heero had walked a short distance away, and then he must have sneaked a quick look at the contents because they could hear a surprised, "Yelp!" Duo broke out into a grin. "So, I'm your boyfriend again?" "Yes, you are, if you-" Duo interrupted. "-I do, um agree." "I'd like to explain, but now's not the time." "I think I can keep up with you." "I think you can, too." Heero looked askance to see Duo smiling and felt grateful for that. "I like to show you-" "-Eh! Not now, I get that!" Duo tugged on the corner of Heero's uniform. "We'll have a chance later." Heero hoped Duo meant what it sounded like. He definitely needed Duo in his life. "Somehow, yes. Now, I have an evacuation to complete. Have you an exit plan?" "Um, actually... I was thinking about that motorcycle of yours." Heero smiled. "If we get separated, meet me there in an hour." "Yeah, boss, heh, heh." "And, please, stay out of trouble!" "Yo de boss, man." (o) Trowa, signaled the conductor, who swung himself up onto the train. The engineer worked his levers and blew one long blast on the whistle, and the little six-car train backed along the track, past the treasury, moving slowly the fraction of a mile to the palace station. Once in place, the circus cars linked with the heavily-loaded others to complete the train. Slow and easy, gets the job done right. (o) Duo had paced a path around the motorcycle, waiting for Heero to show. He'd dodged rain drops dripping off the tree when the wind blew and whistled every tune he knew. Watching Heero sort through a lot of shit in an amazingly short amount of time had been amusing and he could sympathize with him. That princess could sure pack a punch double time! He did feel for him having to come to terms with his world going topsy-turvy in under a minute. He was glad Heero had chosen to accept the situation and move ahead without freaking out, but mostly he was glad Heero hadn't given up on him. They'd need to have it out, talk, sort out what they were going to do and where they were heading, if they could stick together. Damn! Where were they going? Where was Heero? What was keeping him? His hour was up! He was about to go hunting for his boyfriend, when Heero came dashing out of the barracks building, hauling a navy blue duffle bag over a shoulder. He had changed clothes, discarding his uniform for casual jeans and a black leather-to-drool-for jacket. "God, you look hot!" Duo told him. "Did you see anything?" Heero asked, all business. "Some of the film crew slinking around; none of your guardsmen." "The barracks was empty. Good. I saw Khushrenada by the palace entrance." "Heh, heh, yeah, probably figuring it was awfully quiet and maybe deciding whether to go in or not." "Besides him and his... people," Heero hesitated over "troops" or "crew" and settled on the vague generalization. "I believe we are the last to leave. I can't imagine what he'll think when he sees the palace has been stripped of all its treasures." "Weeell... it may take him awhile to figure that out." "Duo? Why?" "You take a look yourself. This is a little...ah... device of mine for messing with the surveillance cameras. Don't ask me how, and I tell you later. Can you review the video feed recording now?" Heero dug through his bag and removed a laptop. "Just a minute." "Betcha wanna see my toy here, right?" "Yes, I do. I'll have to confiscate it, but later. Okay. I'm checking the entry camera-what? The paintings are back! I know I saw the prince store that one in a crate with my very own eyes!" "Heh, heh." "Duo, what the hell is going on?! It was emptied out and now it looks the same as it did. Everything is in place." "Not everything is there, but enough to look like it usually does to someone who doesn't live there all the time." "I don't get it." "Remember what I said about the crown jewels on display being fake ones? Well, it's like that for other stuff. When the real things are traded out, replicas get put in their place, like a place-saver. Not everything, just the most the important art. What you are looking at are the replicas that Wufei switched out." "So, Chang...Wufei... has the originals?" "Yep, in storage. It's safe and secret. Well, I guess the prince knows all about it. Mill and 'Fei are, um, a couple." "Prince Milliardo and... Chang? No kidding?" Heero shook his head. "Crazy. Wait, won't the paintings have to be removed again for painting? Oh...I get it, the palace isn't getting painted, is it?" "That's the ticket! They're not painting the palace. It's been stripped of its valuables by us so the New Alliance can't get their stinking hands on it." Heero loaded his duffle onto a side carrier using bungee cord to hold it on. "What the princess said must be true...that Khushrenada's company was acting as the vanguard, the forerunner of things to come." Duo caught the helmet as Heero tossed it to him. "That's what I understand. Maybe that envelope she gave you says more." Heero strapped on his helmet and searched his pockets for the keys. "She said it was proof." "All I know is that once Treize and the New Alliance figure out that the palace is full of worthless shit and the treasury's been-" Heero paused before starting the engine. "What about the treasury?" Duo hopped on the back of the cycle. "Um, I'll get to that later, okay? What I mean is, we got some time, but not much before all hell will break loose." "I understand that part, but you will tell me about the treasury." "Yeah, yeah, later. Let's ride. Whoo-ee!" Duo cried as Heero shot out of the parking lot and away from the palace. (o) As the charming red and yellow circus train chugged through the Sanc countryside through the night, the weather worsened, but that didn't affect its route or slow its progress. The little train was still plugging along when the rainy morning came with a strip of pale sky on the horizon, passing recently planted fields, birch and Sanc Red Oak groves, and tiny streams swelled with runoff from the downpour. The air smelled of damp earth and growing things. The leaves in fresh, bright greens and rustled softly in the wind. Four hundred and fifty miles, more or less. With the locomotive making a steady thirty-five miles an hour, about fourteen hours. It was just a little train, yellow coaches with red borders on the windows and a locomotive puffing through the grain fields and past orchards laden with tiny, green fruits. Pastoral, harmless. The enchanted train didn't stop in Paris, but continued on to Lyon and still maintained its languorous speed to a stop north of Marseille, where the circus disembarked for a performance. Nearby, lay the estate of Milliardo Peacecraft. TBC...
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