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"Boot Camp"Written By: Snowdragonct Disclaimer: Don't own any part of Gundam Wing or the characters, more's the pity. This is for fun...no profit involved. Warnings: AU (sort of), yaoi, swearing (lots), some OOC (probably), some violence, references to NCS (especially in later chapters) Pairings: 1+2, 3+4 (to start with) A/N: This is the first time I'm getting up the nerve to post a story...hope it's not too similar to anyone else's (haven't seen one just like it). Candid, kindly-delivered critiques will be greatly appreciated...please don't rip my head off too much? Um, and the old "don't like, don't read" phrase holds true. Oh, and it's fiction, and I don't have a law degree, so there's sure to be some inaccuracies...can we just pretend, please? Thanks in advance. Rating: NC 17 Summary: Four boys in the juvenile justice system
receive a last chance to make something of their futures. Will boot
camp make or break them? And can they ever learn to be a team? "Boot Camp"
It was a lovely afternoon for a drive along the sun-dappled roads through the wilderness surrounding Camp Peacecraft. If Captain Chang hadn’t had so much on his mind, he might have enjoyed the pleasant breeze and the cool shade of the trees. But his mind was focused on one thing only…keeping his resourceful young charges alive long enough to get to the Academy, where they belonged. He had no intention of driving any great distance, and had turned off the paved road onto a jeep trail shortly after leaving the camp. He didn’t need to be at the rendezvous until nearly twelve hours later; but he planned a thorough reconnaissance of the area in daylight, and to be in position hours ahead of schedule. Duo Maxwell wasn’t going to die on Wufei’s watch. As the trail climbed, Wufei noticed a glint of sunlight reflecting off a flat, shiny surface, far below him and on the road leading to town, and his soldier’s instincts kicked in immediately. Pulling into the trees and parking, he grabbed his binoculars and walked to the edge of a steep embankment, dropping to one knee and searching the area where he’d seen the reflection. There was a truck parked alongside the road, and the officer frowned deeply. No civilian vehicles were supposed to be using the access road to the camp, but they’d occasionally had to kick out a hunter or two. Wufei pulled out his cell phone, checking for a signal, but this far into the wilderness there was none. There was no way to call back to camp for one of his men to check out the strangers. “Damn!” He looked again at the truck, and then at the two men beside it. One was watching the road up towards Camp Peacecraft, while the other leaned against the vehicle, thumbing through a magazine. Wufei Chang had not gotten to where he was in life by being stupid. And his quick mind jumped directly to the conclusion that the two men and their truck were on that particular road, at that particular time, for some sinister reason. And since, in Wufei’s mind, sinister and Kushrenada went hand in hand, he swiftly decided the warden was once again up to his underhanded tricks. “Damn, damn, damn!” Wufei hissed. A stray thought that he really needed to expand his vocabulary ran through his mind, totally sounding like Maxwell’s teasing voice. And after allowing himself a brief smile and the warmth of feeling like he wasn’t alone out there, the Chinese officer set out on foot for the men lying in wait down below.
“Maybe the mark stopped off for a piss or something,” shrugged the other man. “Just keep an eye on the road, and an ear out for the sound of the engine. We won’t have much time to get in the truck and cut him off.” “No time at all,” came a cold, menacing voice behind them. “Hands over your heads, gentlemen…or you’ll have firsthand experience at how a deer feels when you open up on it from a blind.” Neither man moved, though their eyes darted around for the source of the voice. “Who’s there?” asked Stan. “I’ll give you the count of three. One. Two…” Both men put their hands in the air slowly. “Better.” A slender Asian man in an MSC uniform walked out of the trees, his onyx eyes narrowed menacingly. “On the ground. Both of you!” “Who’re—?” “Now!” He gestured impatiently with the barrel of the gun he held squarely aimed at the two ambushers. They went face down in the dirt, hands still spread above their heads. Until he had them both securely handcuffed to one another, wrist and ankle, with their backs to a tree, Wufei kept a close eye on his would-be assailants. Then he made a swift circuit of the area to make sure there were no others in their ranks, and finally settled onto a log facing his captives. He sighted down the barrel of the gun, aiming at first one, and then the other man, before he lowered the weapon, resting it on his knees, but still directed towards his prisoners. “Now…let’s talk.” “I got nothin’ to say!” snarled the camouflage-wearing man. “We’s just out here for a drive an’ you come wavin’ a gun at us?” “You weren’t driving. You were waiting. For what?” “Deer,” said Stan. “Like you said…we’re deer hunters.” “Hunting season isn’t for two months.” “Doesn’t mean we can’t look for likely places,” growled Stan. “You got no right to take people prisoner like this.” “You’re trespassing,” Wufei noted calmly, dark eyes agleam with satisfaction. “This is government land.” He sat back, giving them a cat-with-a-canary smile. “You must have seen the signs. I believe there are at least three or four stating that no unauthorized vehicles are allowed beyond that point.” “C’mon, man. You can’t be serious,” grumbled cammo-man. “Stan, tell him we got permission to be here!” “Shut up, Hal! He don’t know nothin’. He can’t prove nothin’.” Wufei smiled grimly. “You work for Treize Kushrenada…my guess would be as hired muscle. He told you to make sure a military jeep didn’t get past you, didn’t he? What were you supposed to do? Run me off the road? I’d guess he didn’t want shooting, unless it was unavoidable. The sound of hunting rifles can carry pretty far in these hills. And it’s damn hard to make a bullet hole look like an accident. Plus, if I’m not mistaken, there’s a ravine about another mile down the road…deep enough that it might’ve taken days or weeks for anyone to spot my vehicle.” He eyed the men’s paling features. “Am I close, gentlemen?” He stood up and walked closer, waving the gun carelessly in their general direction. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Captain Chang of the Mobile Suit Corps Academy.” He knelt, placing the barrel of the gun squarely against cammo-man’s temple. “You need to decide, Hal, whether protecting scum like Kushrenada is worth your life.” “I don’t know any Kushernodder!” babbled the man, sweat beading on his pudgy forehead. “Tell him, Stan! You were the one who set up this gig!” Wufei rocked back on his heels with a feral smile, turning the gun on the other man. “My patience is wearing thin, Stan. I’ve got four boys about to put their lives in jeopardy, a potential boyfriend in intensive care, and a very itchy trigger finger.” He glared at the cringing pair. “I’m in a very, very bad mood. And I’m sorely tempted to toss you into the back of your pickup and shove it into that very ravine where you planned to kill me.” He leaned closer. “Give me a reason not to.” Stan shook his head, his face white as a sheet. “C-can’t,” he said in a near-whisper. “We never used names. I dunno the guy…just…he calls and tells me what to do. This time it was to stop the jeep.” “You live around here.” “Yeah—a cabin in the hills.” “And you expect me to believe you don’t know who runs the juvenile detention center up this road?” The man’s eyes widened. “I been workin’ for a fuckin’ warden?” he demanded. Wufei rolled his eyes. These men were guilty as hell, but fairly useless as witnesses. He wasn’t sure how their connection to Kushrenada could be established, but he knew it would take more time than he could afford right then. He walked over to the truck, taking out a ragged flannel shirt and ripping it up. “What’re you gonna do?” asked Stan, frowning a little. Wufei knelt beside him, stuffing a wad of flannel into his mouth, and then tying a strip around his head to secure it in place. “I’m going to leave you both here…bound, gagged, and helpless,” he told them calmly, proceeding to do the same to Hal as he had to Stan. “Then I’m going to dump your truck in the ravine my jeep was supposed to end up in.” A brief smile crossed his handsome face. “Call it ‘poetic justice.’ And then, I have to hike back up to my jeep, and hurry to make a rendezvous that will end your boss’ career for good.” He stood looking down at them. “You’d better pray that I survive tonight. You’re far enough off the road and out of sight, that you’ll most likely starve to death if I don’t.” Both men made muffled protests, but Wufei looked impassively on. “And let me just add that if anything happens to my boys tonight, I may be so distraught I forget all about you. Keep that in mind as you pray for my well-being, and theirs.” He turned on a heel and strode briskly back to the pickup truck, eager to get rid of it and resume his preparations for the mission. The side-trip had cost him hours of time, and before he got to his jeep, the shadows were lengthening as the sun dipped towards the horizon. Muttering a few choice curses, the officer started the jeep, throwing it into gear and making a hasty u-turn to head directly to where he’d planned to park it and hike to the rendezvous point.
Duo was off his feed, as he often was when faced with stress, and he sat picking at the meal in front of him, rather than eating. Trowa sat beside him, scowling at his own meal, but forcing himself to eat. Bite...chew...swallow. “You’ll need your strength,” he murmured quietly. “I know,” Duo muttered, trying not to stare longingly at the back of Heero’s head. The Japanese boy and Quatre were seated across the room, surrounded by chatting, supportive friends as they determinedly picked at their own plates. “Seriously, Duo,” Trowa said with a little more force. “You have to eat.” “I’m trying,” Duo snarled back, raising a glare to his teammate. “But I’ll only end up puking if I do.” “I thought L2 street trash was tougher than that,” Trowa commented snidely. Indigo eyes narrowed menacingly. “Tough enough, Barton.” “Then eat.” Duo shoved the plate aside. “I’m not hungry.” From across the room, Heero had caught the small, tense interaction, and he stood up to take his tray to the counter. “C’mon, Quatre. You can hang out at Clip’s barracks with me for awhile,” he offered loud enough for their companions at the table to hear, holding out a hand in obvious invitation. Quatre took the offered hand, keeping a grip on it as they made their way up to the counter. Duo had given up on his meal, and stood up to leave just as they drew even with his table. But when he turned, his glance dropped to Heero and Quatre’s intertwined hands, and his jaw dropped in shock. “Sonofa—that’s going too far, Yuy!” he growled, taking a step towards Heero. The Japanese boy released Quatre’s hand, and grabbed the front of Duo’s shirt, pulling him in close. “You’d know all about going too far!” he hissed, shoving Duo hard enough to make him trip over a chair and sprawl unceremoniously on the floor. Then Heero took Quatre’s hand in his again. “Stay the fuck out of my way, Maxwell!” he warned, giving a hard yank to Quatre’s hand, and pulling the stunned blonde along with him as he stalked out of the mess hall. Trowa had already gone to Duo’s aid, kneeling by his fallen teammate, and helping him sit up. For fuck’s sake, if Yuy hurt the braided boy their plan would be blown to Hell! “I’m okay, Tro’,” Duo said quietly, accepting the helping hand, and brushing himself off once he was on his feet. He blinked his slightly too-bright indigo eyes, and let his teammate wrap a comforting arm around his shoulders to lead him outside. “Shit, Duo,” whispered Trowa. “I don’t know what got into Heero. I think he’s taking this way too seriously…” Duo shook his head, waiting until they were alone to reach into his shirt pocket and pull out what Heero had shoved into it during their altercation. “A protein bar?” Trowa asked, his own eyes suddenly brightening with realization, and then with a trace of emotion. “Shit.” He shook his head, feeling badly for having misread their team leader so completely. “S’okay, Tro’,” Duo said quietly. “For a second, I believed it too.” He drew a sleeve across his face. “I can’t wait until this is over.” “Just a few hours,” Trowa reminded him.
He hadn’t been able to reach Campbell for confirmation, but with the sporadic cell phone service out in the wilderness, the man would have had to drive to a land line to call. He’d probably gone to the local bar to make the call, and knowing his habits, Kushrenada wouldn’t be surprised if the man ended up celebrating with a few drinks before checking in. The warden had taken the liberty of calling the MSC hospital with a supposed “message” for Chang, only to be told he hadn’t arrived yet and hadn’t been heard from. He was willing to take that as a good sign the Captain wouldn’t be arriving at all. “The Captain’s disappearance will give me time to try to get at Merquise before he has a chance to start making any wild accusations.” He eyed the guard whose shots had not proven fatal. “You bungled it thoroughly, Tim. But the worst the Major can claim is that you were the one who shot him. He can’t link it to me.” The guard nodded rather wanly. “I’d never squeal on you K. You know that.” “Of course you won’t,” replied the man icily. “But I want you out of the way for a while. I’ve put you in for three weeks of sick leave, starting now. I don’t care where you go. I don’t even want to know where you go. But you disappear until any potential fallout blows over. Understand?” The man nodded. “Go pack up and get going.” Tim obediently headed for the guard barracks to carry out the instructions. “Now, the rest of you will take your posts tonight and stay at them, no matter what. I’ll handle the perimeter myself. I’ve had word there’s going to be an escape attempt.” “Maxwell!” laughed one man coldly. “There’s been rumors—.” “Yes, I know. And some of them are even reliable,” said the warden. “I don’t want any witnesses when I catch up with that punk. Understood?” “You never let us have any fun,” muttered another guard, with mock-sullenness. Kushrenada went over to that man, placing a comradely arm around his shoulders. “You want fun, Jock? I have a job just for you,” he said in an undertone. He waited until the others were out of earshot, heading out to follow his orders. “Make sure Tim does as I instructed and disappears…permanently, though.” Jock’s eyebrows rose at that, and then a sinister smirk curled his lips. “Consider it done, boss. He was a screw-up anyway.” He left, chuckling, and the warden drew a deep, contented breath. All his loose ends were being taken care of, and in a matter of hours, he’d get to finish off the most vexing one of all…Duo Maxwell.
Duo rolled out of his bunk, fully dressed, with his braid tucked neatly down the back of his shirt. He padded silently over to the window, glancing surreptitiously out across the dark compound. “Looks quiet,” he murmured. Quatre had come up beside him, and draped a companionable arm around his waist. “You be careful.” “You too, little bro’.” Trowa joined Duo at his watch, bracketing Quatre between them, and leaning in to kiss his boyfriend slowly, and deeply. “’Bout time I could do that,” he mumbled with satisfaction when he pulled back. “Aw, no more for me?” Duo teased, only to let out a startled “mmph,” as Trowa leaned over and pressed his lips to those of the braided boy in a warm, chaste kiss. “There. Consider that our ‘closure.’ From now on, your lips are Yuy’s, and his alone.” Duo gave a cocky smile, looking away almost shyly. “Yeah, Tro’. It’s been fun…but Yuy’s got a lot more than just my lips.” “I’ll tell him that when I see him,” Quatre said firmly, hugging them both. They waited together in companionable silence until it was time for Duo to go. Then he pulled free of his teammates, giving them a quick thumbs up before heading for the escape hole in the bathroom floor. Quatre looked at Trowa. “You go in five, and at the same time, I’ll head for my meeting with Heero.” Trowa nodded, pulling his lover a little closer for their remaining moments.
“There’s a good dog,” he crooned gently, scratching the dog’s big ears. “I’ll have fresh meat for you tonight.” He would have liked to take the dog with him, and allow it the pleasure of running down its own victim, but he wanted Maxwell’s death to be silent—undetectable. For that reason, he’d screwed a silencer onto his sidearm, prepared for his own brand of stealth. He glanced at his watch…almost midnight. If he left now, he could be waiting when Maxwell got through the perimeter fence. All he needed was for the boy to be completely outside the containment area, and he could justify any action he took, even if it were somehow detected. But with Merquise and Chang out of the way, and Maxwell none the wiser to the fact that Kushrenada knew of his escape, the odds of detection were negligible. Kind of like Maxwell’s odds of survival. Chuckling to himself, the warden checked his hand gun again and slung his backup rifle over a shoulder. In case the boy made a run for it, he wanted to have a long-range weapon at hand. Patting the lean, panting dog one last time, he put him back into the kennel and headed out the door at a brisk pace, eager to get on with his night’s activities. The rest of the warden’s supplies for his midnight foray were already in his car, which was waiting at the front gate. He planned to drive out on one of the perimeter access roads, park the vehicle, and walk to where he expected Maxwell to make his break. After he “secured” the boy, he’d haul him back to the car, which contained the necessary tools to make sure the world never knew what became of him. Not that he was planning on intercepting Maxwell exactly where the map Quatre had given him indicated the breakout would occur. He knew how sly the boy from L2 could be, so he figured the markings on the map wouldn’t be precisely where he intended to go. No. Knowing the twisted mind of Duo Maxwell, Kushrenada figured he’d choose a point at least a hundred feet from the one marked on the map. And the warden intended to be there, spotlight and gun in hand. Nothing would save the stinking little L2 murderer this time!
It had taken several moments of careful crawling for Duo to get clear of the barracks and far enough away that he dared to get to his feet. Then he made his silent dash to the shower building to change into the clothing Wufei had insisted he wear. He’d forgotten to calculate the extra time changing would take, and before he left the relative safety of the showers, he was already running a bit behind schedule. So he cut back through the barracks area to save time, cursing under his breath at his own thoughtlessness. Distracted by his self-recrimination, he was ghosting silently along between barracks, when suddenly he was grabbed from behind and slammed into the brick wall he’d been following. “Going somewhere, Maxwell?” “Fuck!” he hissed, reaching to strike his attacker, only to pause when he recognized the voice as Austin’s. “Pritchard?” he whispered, his glance sliding sideways to be sure no guards had been alerted. “What the fuck do you want?” “Answers, Maxwell,” came the prompt response. “Something’s up with your team, and now I caught you out of bounds. Give me a reason I shouldn’t turn your ass in!” “You’re out of bounds, too, asshole. You’d get in just as much trouble.” “Not when I’m handing you over to a warden who wants to throw you in prison. He’d overlook just about anything if it netted him your butt.” The green eyes narrowed. “You know it, too.” “Aw, shit, Austin…I don’t have time for this,” Duo moaned. “Look, you’re gonna have to trust me…” Austin pulled him forward and then slammed him back again. “I don’t trust you!” He snarled. “Son of a—.” Duo muttered, getting sick of people slamming him into walls. It seemed to be happening all too often lately. He was just about to knee the other boy in the groin, when a hand settled on Austin’s wrist with an iron grip, forcing the green-eyed boy to let go. “Shit—Yuy? What’s the deal?” Austin growled, releasing Duo to rub his sore wrist with his free hand. “Why are you defending the L2 slut who—?” Heero’s other hand wrapped firmly around Austin’s throat, and his deep blue eyes fixed a deadly glare on the hapless boy. “Right now, Austin, you should shut the fuck up,” he said coldly. He spared a glance at Duo. “You better hurry. You’re already behind schedule, and K. left his office nearly fifteen minutes ago. He’s at the kennels now.” Duo winced. “You think he’s bringing the dogs with him?” “If he does, Trowa will handle them. Now you need to move out!” Duo started past, but a hand shot out to catch his arm, and Heero pulled him in for a brief, hard kiss. Then he pushed the dazed-looking boy to arm’s length. “Be careful!” he warned. The braided boy gave him a reassuring smile. “Always. Love you, ‘Ro.” “Then prove it. Don’t die out there!” “You got it.” Duo sprinted silently away into the darkness, leaving Austin staring dumbstruck at Heero. “What’s going on?” gasped the boy, reaching a hand to try to disentangle Heero’s fingers from his throat. “Kushrenada’s downfall,” Heero said quietly. “If interfering twits like you would stay out of it!” Austin caught on quickly to the fact that the boys from Team Wing had a plan. “Well, sorry for giving a shit, Yuy,” he muttered. “This week’s been like a weird nightmare—you gone and everyone acting totally off their rockers—and ya wonder why me an’ my team are suspicious?” Then his eyes lit with an eager gleam. “How can we help?” “Get back to your barracks, and don’t be seen!” Heero ordered curtly. He started to turn away, but then had a second thought, and turned back. “If you hear shooting, or an alarm goes off, get as many teams as you can out in the compound to be witnesses.” The Japanese boy’s only fear was that Kushrenada might take rash action to harm Duo, which would most likely be evidenced by a commotion. If the plan went off without a hitch, there’d be no noise at all, until either the warden marched Duo back into camp under guard, or Wufei marched the warden into camp the same way. “Understand?” he asked Austin. The other team leader nodded. “Yeah, I do. Whatever your ‘stealth mission’ is, anything loud means there’s trouble…right?” Heero nodded. “Count on us if that happens,” promised Austin. Heero turned away, but was stopped by the other boy this time. He looked back questioningly. “I’m glad Maxwell wasn’t the skunk I was starting to think he was, Yuy.” Austin shrugged apologetically. “I’ll apologize for what I called him next time I see him.” Heero smiled ferally. “Good. I was planning to take that issue up with you after the mission.” He jogged off into the darkness, leaving Austin feeling he’d narrowly avoided a beating, and the boy from Team Chase slunk into the shadows to make his way back to his barracks.
Heero’s teeth flashed white in a very brief smile. “Sorry,” he whispered rather unrepentantly. Quatre nodded, not trusting his voice. “Let’s go ahead in. The sooner we get the data, the sooner we can get out and be ready to back up the others if something goes wrong.” They eased up to the building, and Quatre boosted Heero up onto the window ledge, from which the team leader climbed to the roof, and set about using Duo’s trick of getting in via the vent system. They could have tried picking the lock on the front door, but with the regular patrols and lighting in the compound, it was far too exposed to be worth the risk. With amazing speed, Heero dispatched the cover and shined a small, muted light down into the exposed tunnel. “Perfect.” Crawling to the edge of the roof, he gave a low whistle and held out a hand. Quatre clambered up to the window sill, fumbling until he caught the proffered hand, and then scrambled up beside the team leader. “Are we in?” “Piece of cake,” Heero shrugged. “We really have to talk to Chang about security upgrades.” Giving a brief, nervous giggle, Quatre preceded his teammate into the duct, sliding carefully down until he got to a wall vent that opened directly into the warden’s office. He used a flexible tool to slide through the narrow slats, and unscrew the cover so that he could pop it off. No sooner had he dropped silently into the room than Heero slid out behind him, narrowly missing his head with his booted feet. “Shit, Winner! Next time clear the drop zone, okay?” “Sorry.” Quatre was already at the window, easing the blinds down and then taping the edges, so that when they turned on the computer, not a trace of light would escape. While he completed that task, Heero booted up the system, dimming the monitor to minimize the illumination. And moments later…twelve-fifteen by Heero’s watch…the two boys were busily trying to get past the password protection and infiltrate Kushrenada’s system.
The former acrobat sighed in relief once he achieved the safety of the treetops, more at ease there than on the exposed ground stretching for fifty feet on either side of the chain link fence. Now he just needed to watch for the arrival of Duo, Kushrenada, or Chang, and be prepared to assist in whatever way he could.
As Duo slid through the narrow opening, he found himself holding his breath, feeling like a walking target. But knowing Kushrenada would expect him further down the fence, he thought he had a little safety margin. He didn’t know how wrong he was until a cold voice chuckled from the darkness of the tree line. “At long last, Duo Maxwell, right where I want him.” “Oh fuck.”
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