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"Friends "Written By: Karina
Series: Friends Pairings: 2+6 Ratings: M 15+ [In Australia] Rated in the event of bad language and violence. Disclaimer: I don’t own Gundam Wing or the characters. That’s the way it is. Warnings: Not a death fic despite how it starts.
Aussie spelling and unbetaed. Summary: When Milliardo Peacecraft is abducted
and left to die a solitary death Duo Maxwell decides to take a hand
in the proceedings.
Chapter 35 He watched as Duo shuffled the door to one side revealing a cavernous darkness beyond. He directed the beam of the torch past Maxwell’s shoulder and into the gap, revealing little beyond the suggestion of a few indistinct shapes. He could see no sign of Marquise and wondered where the man was and what condition he must be in. Maxwell had suggested he had been close to death on his arrival and that boded ill for moving him to the helicopter. //We will require a stretcher, I suppose, and that is one thing we did not bring with us, though Maxwell’s helicopter might contain one. I am not enamoured of the notion of carrying a man of his size down the mountain to our craft. If there is no other way, then there is no help for it.// Movement to one side attracted his attention in time to watch Yuy swing his backpack to the icy floor and Barton making a survey of the immediate area, no doubt determining where it would be best to pitch his tent. His partners gave every appearance of having accepted Maxwell’s decision there would be insufficient room in his shelter for them, but Wu Fei was not about to take the matter at face value. Maxwell might well dance around Marquise and cater to his needs, but Chang Wu Fei danced around no one. Duo had vanished into the darkness of what he claimed to be a pantry and Wu Fei strode to the door, determined to discover the lay of the land and check out the extent of the injuries they would need to deal with. He needed to be fully briefed on the health of their target and what might be required for them to return Marquise safely to New Port City. “Chang, Barton and Yuy are here.” Duo’s voice; low toned and clear, despite the wailing of the wind. “They will have to pitch tents outside, or in the cabin for the remainder of the night.” The beam of his torch revealed Maxwell crouching beside a makeshift hearth and piling what appeared to be the dried remnants of the collapsed room within it, preparatory to lighting a fire. “You want to get that bloody light out of my eyes?” He dipped the torch obediently and directed it about the room, taking note of the remnants of shelves about the rock walls, the dome of the tent deeper in the small room and the great pile of debris stockpiled for drying and use. With the door replaced over the gap to keep out the cold draft Wu Fei decided it was an ideal and rather snug shelter from the elements. Directing the torch at the tent he took a moment to study the man leaning against what looked to be Maxwell’s backpack. The wealth of pale hair was unmistakable and the arctic glare of those blue eyes suggested the man was as alive and mean as ever. He had the sleeping bag drawn up to his shoulders and by his visible right hand lay a snub nosed revolver. Chang scowled at that, flicking his gaze toward Maxwell who was watching him as a wisp of smoke began to curl around the wood at his feet. “I’m sure Zechs likes being blinded by a torch about as much as I do. What’s your problem, Chang?” Duo’s torch was directed at him, a little to one side so as not to shine directly into his eyes. It was a courtesy Wu Fei emulated, dipping the torch a little. Marquise did not move, not so much as blinking to acknowledge his action. Wu Fei could almost feel cold hands hovering close, waiting to grasp his throat and throttle the life out of him. On the few occasions they had met, and those meetings had been few after Dekim Barton’s play for power, he received the distinct impression Marquise disliked him. “Does he require further medical attention?” “Zechs is fine for the night, just go get your bed ready and leave him be.” Duo blew on the beginnings of a flame, coaxing it gently to life. He kept the torch in one hand as he piled debris from the larger pile beside him; fuel once he had a decent flame going. “What is the extent of his injuries?” “We can talk about this later,” Duo scowled and poked irritably at the growing flame. “Plenty of time to discuss matters.” “We will need to know his condition before we move him in the morning. There is no need to make the move any more difficult than it has to be.” Duo dropped the torch beside him and slapped his hands against his thighs. “Look. It’s late, it’s bloody cold and you’ve woken us up from a sound sleep, so don’t expect us to be exactly sociable.” He stood slowly. “No one is going anywhere until the chopper is dug out and that is going to take the better part of the morning. If you bug off and get your camp ready I can get this fire going. Go find out what supplies you have available, we will be more comfortable for having something hot in our bellies.” “I need to know what happened and what condition he is in.” He expected Marquise to snap at him, the man was never sociable, not that they had had occasion to meet often. He could recall meeting Marquise no more than twice since the war and on both occasions it was obvious Marquise held a low opinion of him. No doubt that opinion was based on his actions during the war, but Marquise was the big bad villain of the war. It was Marquise who had been trying to blow up the planet, not he. He had been a hero during the war and he had only been a bit player for Barton’s disastrous attempt at world conquest, not the major villain of the show. His friends had forgiven him his place in that altercation, not that he particularly believed he was wrong or required anyone’s forgiveness. If anyone should be ashamed of their actions it was Marquise, not Chang Wu Fei. “We can talk after we set camp.” Duo growled. “Maxwell…” “That’s my name! Don’t wear it out.” Duo took a threatening step forward; hands clenched into fists at his side. He looked dangerous and ready to explode, blue eyes glimmering violet in the poor lighting. His braid was a mess, bits of hair escaping the weave and cobwebs clung to the chestnut mass. There were marks of fatigue under his eyes, dark circles which spoke of lack of sleep. The jovial annoying jester that was Maxwell’s usual persona was decidedly lacking in this hard eyed, grim faced individual. “I need to ascertain if he requires medical attention through the night. We could take it in shifts to spell you to enable you to get additional sleep.” Duo rubbed a hand over his face, shaking his head. “Nah. Not necessary, Chang. He’s okay to sleep the night through and I’ll be in the tent with him. If he does wake up I’ll know it and deal with whatever the problem might be.” “It is not necessary for you to take the burden on yourself. We are here now and he is our problem.” Something flashed in those hard eyes, Duo’s stubborn streak seemed to be rising to greater heights than normal and from the tent there was still no hint of movement. “So what makes him your problem?” “Une. We are assigned to recover and return him, this is the charge placed upon us. There is no need for you to put yourself out when it is our mission.” “Well, it isn’t a corpse you’re recovering. He’s alive and kicking and he might be a little on the damaged side, but I bet he can still kick arse if he needs to. I don’t see Une here and I’m not a Preventer, so I don’t have to take her orders to scratch my arse if it itches. I’m tired, more than a shade paranoid and more aware of the conspiracy going on here than you are. Just let us all get settled in and fed. We all need sleep, not just me. I’m not the one who was dumb enough to march through a blizzard after all. We can talk about it in the morning.” “Conspiracy?” Chang murmured, leaning forward slightly. Maxwell might know something of what they suspected and any information would add to the picture they were sketching in. They suspected much but actually knew little. Maxwell had been sequestered up here for a couple of days with Marquise and he might well have gained some information from the man in that time. “What do you know of a conspiracy?” He was more than concerned when Maxwell directed a look at the tent and the watching man. Something was exchanged between them, something profound and Wu Fei did not like the implications. “Time enough to chew over the fat later, Chang.” He looked his exhaustion suddenly, but his back straightened and his stance stiffened. “All I want now is to get something to eat, warm up and rest. Look, I’ll tell you what. You go get your tent ready and I’ll get the fire going properly, then I’ll find my camera. I’ve got the crime scene photo’s on a disk and you can play cops and robbers on it to your hearts content while I sleep.” He was making little sense and Wu Fei noted Marquise had a hand to his mouth and he suspected the man of hiding a smirk at their expense. With a huff, and purely to deny the blonde his amusement, Wu Fei grunted and stomped out of the pantry. He would have his answers and he did not care whose teeth he needed to pull to get them. Duo stretched slowly, straining against sore muscles in an attempt to loosen up a little before he turned to the tent and the man he knew was watching him. “You want to pass out the lantern? We need some decent light in here to work by.” Bending down he reached a hand into the tent and after a moment Marquise turned to grasp the lantern by the handle, reaching to offer it to him. He knew what was coming, the man had told him often enough through the day about the dangers of interacting with him. It stood to reason he would offer a warning about their recently arrived company. “Duo, for their own safety, the less they know the better.” His voice was a raspy purr of sound against the back drop of howling wind and the faint sounds coming from the cabin. “I’m not about to tell them what you have told me. I know when to give little to gain a lot, so can you dig around in my pack and find the camera? I want to make a copy of the photo’s I took. They might help shed some light on who did this and why. I pretty much snapped a shot of everything I thought might even remotely hold some significance to an investigator. There are some spare discs in the pack too, so we can make a few copies. If anything should happen to the camera then we have some back up.” “Any evidence will be sure to be collected and promptly destroyed. Whoever arranged for this will want to cover their tracks.” “They can’t do anything about it if they don’t know we have a copy of the evidence,” Duo returned. “When you study it you might be able to see something I don’t recognize as being important. It’s worth a try and who knows, maybe it will be enough to point the finger at your assailant.” “Anything is possible. Duo, you should separate yourself from this as quickly as possible. The wind will have dropped substantially by morning and I suggest you dig out the chopper and go to ground. Keep a low profile; you will be safer that way.” Duo considered Marquise for a long moment as he set the lantern down beside the fire. “We have to survive the night before any of us can leave.” “They are your friends, Duo. Don’t make the mistake of loosing them because, for a short time, you find it difficult to understand each other. Your difficulties with them will pass by the wayside before you understand how everything sorted itself out. Don’t turn your back to them; let them in, even if they don’t seem to understand. You can never have enough friends.” He fed the weak flame some small pieces of debris and sighed. He had known Marquise would come out with something like that. The man seemed to have an uncanny sense for knowing what to say to make him uncomfortable. “That’s something you should remember, Zechs Marquise. Friends stick by each other and help when times are bad. I don’t save a body’s arse and then abandon him to chance. You’ve got problems and since I saved your butt I think I have a vested interest in the conspiracy surrounding you. Now that’s my choice, not yours. I’m not giving you the right to decide about it, okay? You’ll just have to get used to my interest.” 0000000000000000 Wu Fei scowled at the ice layering the floor of the cabin. There were photographs of the crime scene and while he could not expect Maxwell to have taken the pictures as well as a trained investigator would have, the photographs might be clear enough to offer significant information. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that Maxwell was well ahead of them in determining the details of what had brought Marquise out here. If Marquise was indeed Black Ops then he would have revealed nothing, but sometimes what one did not say was more informative than what one did say. Preventers were trained to listen to what was not spoken aloud and might assist to solve the case. They did not need Maxwell mixed up in this business if he refused to join Preventers. He was a civilian and would need to be kept on the sidelines. It was a necessity of which he undoubtedly would not approve. Perhaps this would be the nudge the man needed to determine where his life was going. ~ * ~
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