|
"A Silver Lining "Written By: SkyLark Warnings: Angst, LOTS of it, mentions on NSC, sap, gore at times, strong language, possible lemon... Lots of flashbacks to give more info on event leading to the present. Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Eventual 1x2, 5xS, 4xR, 3xOC, 6x9. Beta Written and Plot Bunny from: Keiran Disclaimer: I do not own Gunman Wing, nor it's characters. I just love playing with them. Very special thanks to Tiff and Helen for helping to brush me up on my Japanese for this fic!! It's really appreciated!
"A Silver Lining " [Concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT It was just past midnight when Jack returned from his last excursion. And what a great new day it was turning out to be already. Humming to himself in content, he kept his bloodied
hands in the pockets of his long, black coat as he climbed the stairs
of the That made three entertaining ventures in less than a week. When he reached the seventh floor of the eight-floor
apartment building, the young assassin stepped through the doorway
and His green eyes wide, Jack panted heavily in fright from
the abrupt assault. The fiercely glaring brown eyes that bore down
on him Swallowing hard, the hit man's mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed, "D-Damien. What do you mean-" The right fist slamming into his abdomen silenced him. Falling back, Jack doubled over as he wheezed in his attempts to catch his breath. Quickly gripping the front of the assassin's shirt to straighten him again, Damien hissed, "I saw what you've been up to for the last few hours." Jack's face was pale and covered in sweat while he swayed on his feet, his green eyes still wide in terror. "You're a goddamned fool for trying to compromise your whereabouts for a thrill ride in killing some hookers! With a smirk, the tall brunette roughly wiped away some of the makeup that the sweat dampened around his captives nose, causing him to whimper at the harsh touch. The dark bruises coloring the pale skin there revealed more of the swelling that had successfully been covered up. "Hurts, doesn't it?" Damien asked, his voice lacking any concern. He bit back a laugh as the usually smug assassin nodded in near panic. Gripping the smaller man's chin in one hand, Damien's smile faded and his glare returned as he warned, "Maybe I should just Finally catching his breath, Jack managed to pull back in a moment of frenzy and pleaded, "No! I-I've been careful! Besides, no one would recognize me like this! I don't know what has you so worried!" "Keep your voice down," Damien hissed, the fire still in his eyes. Folding his arms, he growled deeply, "It only takes one person to see you attacking one of those girls. If they go to the police, even your new identity won't keep you from being brought in. A simple fingerprint or DNA examination will reveal who you really are." Shaking his head, his face reddened and his voice rose
as he shouted, "When the fuck were you going to think about that,
you Unable to give a reasonable answer to that, Jack swallowed hard and slowly backed away from his accomplice. He had not taken any of that into consideration-he was simply enjoying his freedom too much to think logically. As careful as he had been in his outings, he was still taking a great chance every time he stepped outside. His face paled and sweat beaded on his brow once again at the realization of his recklessness. Taking a deep breath, Damien released it slowly before snarling, "We only have to get through today. Tomorrow morning, you'll be on a shuttle to carry out what you're being paid for." Slowly, he walked towards the cowering young man. Whimpering, Jack backed himself into the corner behind him. When he was close enough to the assassin that he was
breathing on the top of his head, Damien's fists clenched at his sides
as he The worry still in his eyes, the assassin looked around the small living space anxiously. "H-how many of you are there in this place?" he asked. "I know that Blake said that my surroundings would be protected at all times until I leave the Colony." A small smirk tugged at Damien's lips and he nodded, "Don't worry. There are more than enough of us around to guarantee that you don't have any unwanted company. We are watching you at all times." Bending at the waist, he said quietly, "How else do you think I found out what you were up to?" Suddenly cold from the chill that ran up his spine at
that statement, Jack nodded numbly and whispered, "Right. You
won't have More than satisfied that he made his point clear, Damien grinned and stepped aside. With a wave of his hand, he stepped aside, held out his arms and bowed at the waist in a dramatic showing the way past him. All too happy to get away, the assassin quickly walked past the taller man. Quickly opening the door and closing it behind him, Jack ran down the hall for his room without looking back. There certainly was no point in trying his luck. * * * * * * Looking into his rearview mirror, Zechs grinned as he watched a familiar car pull up behind his vehicle in the small alley where he and his wife had been staking out. "Good," he said quietly. "Some of the Calvary is here." Noin sat up in the passenger seat to look through the back windshield. A small smile tugged at her own lips as the doors of the car behind them opened. The two agents that made the scene walked up either side of the car until they reached the front doors. Both Noin and Zechs opened their windows and grinned to their friends. "Glad you could join us," the young woman greeted to the braided pilot leaning through her side. Heero bent at the waist to peer in through the tall blonde's opened window. With a shrug, the braided pilot replied, "We were
only a mile away when you called for everyone to be on standby."
Nodding in Zechs answered, gazing from one pilot to the other, "Noin and I were questioning Officer Dan Ashford." He gestured to the station just across the street that he and his partner had been watching since their departure. "When he was shown Collin's picture, he almost turned green, but told us he didn't know anything." Nodding, Heero stated, "So we sit and wait here until he makes a move. Hopefully, he leads us to what we want to know." Noin nodded along with her husband. His mouth turning up in a smirk, the ex-Wing pilot chuckled deeply, "Knowing how neither of you would be waiting around like this unless you were sure you were onto something, we'll just stick with you in case you need back up." Noin brightened at that and grinned, "We'd appreciate
it." As she turned, her eyes widened as she shouted, "Shit!
There he is!" Zechs quickly turned to the station to watch a
pale officer Ashford quickly descending the front stairs of the station,
his eyes Quickly straightening, Heero and Duo ran back to their own car. Both cars sat in the dark alley, neither driver turning on the ignition as to alert the officer running to his squad car. Only when Dan was peeling into the street to join the light traffic did Zechs turn his own vehicle on with Heero's car waking right behind him. Turning on the headlights, the tall blonde told his partner, "Hang on." With that warning, Zechs hit the gas to turn onto the street a safe distance behind the squad car. An hour later… Dawn sighed deeply in content as she and Jasmine stepped from the movie theater. Despite how reluctant she had been about going out, she was grateful that she had been talked into it. Gently squeezing the Hispanic young woman's arm in a friendly manner, she smiled, "Thanks for the talk earlier, Jas. And this was a really good idea." With a wink to her blonde friend, Jasmine shrugged, "What are sisters for?" She led the way down one of the alleys that would lead them to their rundown shells that they called home. Alone in the darkened walkway, they quickened their steps and stayed close as was common practice for one who knew the streets. As they neared the end of the alley, the pair froze
when the headlights of a car suddenly fell on them from behind. Turning
with "I have been looking all over for you," Officer
Ashford sighed deeply as he neared the pair with something clenched
in his hand. Crying out in pain, Dawn tried hard to focus on the
poorly lit picture. Jasmine was shouting at the young officer, but
she could From the other end of the alley, two cars-one behind
the other- stopped just short of them. Jasmine stopped just short
of hitting His eyes widening, Dan released the thin arm in his tight grip. Noin smiled warmly to the two young women as she reached in her light coat with her free arm to remove her badge. At the relief that spread across the pair's faces when she revealed the identification, she wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulder and grinned, "Why don't we leave these boys alone for a little while so we can talk?" As the two prostitute followed Noin willingly, Zechs walked up to Officer Ashford. Behind him, Heero and Duo stayed close as they matched their friend's fiery glare on the dark-haired man. Folding his arms, the blonde agent hissed, "So you had no lead to Collins? You know that keeping information like this from us is a criminal offense." Swallowing hard, the young officer glared back at the tall man and snapped, "I wasn't even sure that the criminal was the same man that she had described to me before. She came into the station two nights ago. I was simply making sure that I was not jumping to conclusions." Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed further as he asked, "How did she come to run into jack Collins that she would have turned to you with a description?" Dan froze, his eyes widening anew at realizing that he said more than he had meant to. Noin stormed back into the light of the cars facing each other. Her face red, she shouted at the officer, "She witnessed a murder and you did nothing about it!" From just beyond the reach of the light, Dawn and Jasmine watched quietly. Zechs, Heero and Duo stared with shock-filled eyes before their threatening glowers focused on the pale policemen. "That's why you were in such a rush to get to that
girl," the braided pilot sneered. "You wanted to cover up
the fact that you Backing until he felt the wall just behind him, Dan
shouted back in rage, "Look, you have no idea what the fuck it's
like trying to Slowly turning his head so that he could glare at the
two call girls watching, he hissed, "Far as I'm concerned, anyone
who sells At that, Duo's mouth fell open with his eyes wide. Instantly, his surprise faded into fury as he growled deeply and lunged past Zechs before anyone saw him move. With a loud cry, his right fist flew into the side of the officer's face. Falling back, Dan yelled out in pain as he violently slammed into the brick wall behind him. His cobalt eyes widening, Heero shouted, "Shit!" In an instant, he closed the distance between him and his lover to hold him back with his arms around his waist. Even as he was pulled back, Duo fought his partner to try and get at the man crawling on the ground. Zechs and Noin ran in to assist in keeping the American at bay until he calmed at last. Stunned and on the ground, Dan reached up to touch the quickly reddening bruise on his left cheek. Turning to the agents watching him, he rose to his feet with an icy stare at the braided pilot that returned the same wordless threat through his gaze. "You son of a bitch," he growled deeply. "You just assaulted an officer!" Zechs smirked, "Well, I wouldn't worry. That punch is certainly the least of your concerns right now. Besides, you won't be an officer for much longer." The dark-haired man's mouth fell open as he looked up to the blonde pilot in disbelief. Squeezing Duo's shoulder, he suggested to his friends, "Let's get out of here." As he and the other pilots ushered the scared young women to their cars, they ignored the shouts from the young man that followed them. Sliding into the driver's seat of their rented car, Heero turned to face his best friend as they closed the doors after themselves. With a concerned frown, he ran a hand over his braided head and asked quietly, "Are you all right?" Duo swallowed hard before meeting his lover's gaze. His violet eyes were filled with small tears of anguish. "That bastard has no idea what it's like to have to resort to that kind of lifestyle," he managed in a small, broken whisper. A small, reassuring smile lit Heero's face as he gently
wiped a stray tear away. "No, he doesn't," he replied softly.
"What he said The Preventers pulled slowly out of the alley and onto the street to begin the drive back to their small hotel on the other side of the city. * * * * * * "No," Dawn pulled the brown blanket around her tighter and shook her head slowly as she tried to bring back the image in her mind. "His nose was a little wider than that." Wufei nodded patiently and typed in the directions for the computer to change the image on the screen. Using the scanned mug shot of Jack Collins, the Chinese pilot changed the hair an eye color to match what their witness had seen in the culprit's changes. Sitting away from the table on a small recliner, Jasmine turned to the braided young woman that was sitting on the couch beside her. With a deep frown, she asked, "Doesn't this seem at all strange that in a couple nights the guy that Dawn saw looked nothing the way he did when she first saw him?" With a warm smile, Sally turned to meet her gaze and answered, "This is much more than a simple murder investigation. We believe the man we're after is tied in with people who would stop at nothing to stay hidden from us." She shrugged and stated simply, "Dawn said that she knows the man she saw in her apartment building was the same person that she saw kill her friend. She is the only witness that we have, and we believe her." Jasmine bit her lip and whispered, "Simple as that?"
It was still hard for her to believe that anyone would so willingly
believe Her smile growing, Sally agent nodded firmly, "Simple as that." Blinking her brown eyes in surprise, the Hispanic young woman gave her a small grin of appreciation just as Quatre returned from the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee. Loosening the blanket that had been wrapped around her bare shoulders, Jasmine fought a blush at seeing her own strapless, skintight snakeskin dress. She timidly accepted the offered drink and nodded with a sincere, "Thank you." The Arab pilot smiled back and took a seat beside Sally on the couch. As she sipped her coffee, Jasmine looked to the other agents that had come to her aid. The ones named Heero and Duo were sitting on the opposite side of the table where Wufei and Dawn were working. The anxious looks on their faces as they waited spoke volumes of how badly they wanted to find this Jack Collins. Noin and Zechs were speaking quietly amongst themselves
just inside of the adjacent kitchen after making a call to `headquarters'
as they referred to it. Not one of them looked down on her or her
friend or made them uncomfortable. It was a nice change to be Walking into the living room to join the others, Zechs
announced, "The other teams should be in the area within the
next couple of hours." After a quick look to the clock, he said,
"That would put us at about four in the morning." All but
Wufei nodded in The silence that fell on the room lasted only a brief moment when Dawn suddenly gasped sharply. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "That's exactly what he looks like, now!" Smirking in satisfaction of his work, Wufei turned the laptop around to show his friends the new image of Jack Collins. "Contacts, hair die and a broken nose," the
Chinese pilot noted aloud. "They're all things that the can be
obtained pretty easily Heero smiled in relief, "Great. At least now we
know what to look for." With a nod to the raven-haired pilot,
he told him, "Better Slowly rising from his seat, Duo rounded the table to kneel before the blonde witness. Dawn loved his eyes. Something in them, the way that he looked at her and Jasmine spoke of an understanding that she only saw in her `sisters.' "You said that you saw the room that Jack stepped out of tonight," the ex-Deathscythe pilot spoke reassuringly. "Do you know the room number of his apartment? We need this arrest to go as smoothly as possible without alarming the other residents." Biting her lip, Dawn tried to recall the layout of her
floor; but with all that had happened, she couldn't think. With a
deep frown, At that, Quatre took up the two-way radio sitting on
the coffee table before the couch. Turning on the small radio, he
called into The Latin pilot's voice replied, "Got it. We're already outside of the owner's residence. I'll contact you as soon as we're finished." Dawn looked from one agent to the other around her as she asked, "Can I go with you… when you move in to arrest him? I want to see for myself that he didn't get away." There was a brief exchange of glances between the pilots as they shared a silent conversation. Jasmine rose to her feet to stand by her friend, silently making it known that if she would be joining if their presence was allowed. Finally, Duo straightened and grinned to the two young women, "Sure. We'll have other teams stationed a safe distance away in case we need them. We can have you and both stay with them." His friends nodded their acceptance of the offer. With a wide smile, Dawn all but leapt from her seat to embrace the braided pilot tightly with a broken, "Thank you." His violet eyes widening, Duo smiled warmly and returned the heartfelt gesture. From where he watched, Heero smiled and winked at his partner when their eyes met. * * * * * * Grumbling, the old man moved through his dark living
room to answer the insistent, loud knocking at his front door, mumbling As he opened the door, the apartment owner hissed, "What the hell is this-" His words caught in his throat at finding the familiar pair of agents that he had spoken to earlier that day. Neither of them looked particularly thrilled at that moment as they stood on his doorstep, glaring heatedly at him. The red-haired young woman lost some of her edge to smirk. She tilted her head and greeted, "Remember us, Mister Roley?" Without warning, Anna pushed past the old man with Trowa right behind. Together, they stepped into the lit foyer of the house. His grey eyes widening further as he closed the door after them, the white-haired man replied, "Of course I remember you. How can I help you this early morning?" The niceties that he had played on them earlier were starting to slip as he could feel his frustration growing. Folding his arms, Trowa answered, "We believe that you have known Jack Collins to be living in your apartment complex when you told us that you had never seen him." Mister Roley's mouth fell open and his skin paled. "We need a list of all of your residents on the seventh floor." Unable to keep up with his act of politeness any longer, the old man's face burned and he glared heatedly at the pair. "You have no right to such information," he growled deeply. "You don't have a warrant to obtain my paperwork." Easily matching the fierce glare, the Latin pilot snapped,
"In other words, someone paid the right price to keep that information Anna's smirk returned as she stalked over to the old man. "Okay," she began, "We can do this your way, go through the motions and get a warrant for the information. But if we have to go through all of that and we find any proof that you lied to us when you told us you never knew anything of the criminal we're after, you'll be an accomplice to his crimes." The redhead kept from laughing when she noticed the proud man swallowing roughly at that. His arms still crossed, Trowa nodded, "And with the crimes that he committed, don't think that a judge would go easily on you just because of your age. It's a high offense to assist in hiding a marked man like Collins. You'll rot the rest of your days in prison." Still walking around the apartment owner, Anna continued, "Oh, and you won't just rot." Chuckling deeply, she paused when she was standing behind the now sweating man. She leaned in to say lowly in his ear, "Where you would be going, the men have a certain fancy for someone… advanced such as yourself. You couldn't imaging the things that those men are capable of-" Frantic at the thought of that horrific life, Roley's
eyes squeezed closed as he shouted, "Stop it!" He ran into
the living room, Using the key that was stored beneath the cabinet, the white-haired man opened the tip drawer and grabbed the file for the seventh floor. All but tossing it at the pair, he cried, "Here! Jack was not the one who called to have the room set aside for him. I have the name of the person that called and paid for him to stay there until Friday." The pilots looked up from the report that they were scanning with wide eyes. "Until Friday?" Anna breathed. Swallowing hard, Roley nodded. With a deep sigh, she ran a hand through her long bangs and frowned deeply, "That's tomorrow." Quickly scanning down the list of names and the rooms that they were assigned to, Trowa's green eyes narrowed. "Isis Cornet," he read aloud, pointing at the name on the sheet. "Room 706."
|
