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"Witness Protection"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. Rating: R Warnings: Warnings: AU , yaoi, swearing (lots),
some OOC (probably), violence, drugs, sex, a naughty Duo (i.e. he
has a potty mouth and is a bit, er, slutty)…if you are wedded
to the “pure, chaste” version of Duo, he might be a bit
dark and crude for your taste…ditto for the other characters
in here…hey, Quat’s a lawyer…how much lower could he
get? Pairings: 1X2 eventually, 3X4 also eventually, (past 2X3, 6X2) A/N: I’ll apologize in advance that Zechs is, well, deceased right from the start. I like him a lot, and there’ll be mention of him…but mostly in the form of discussing/investigating his murder. Sorry. Summary: When Zechs Merquise is found murdered,
detectives Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang are tasked with the unenviable
chore of keeping the only witness to the crime alive long enough to
testify against the leader of the Oz syndicate, Treize Khushrenada. "Witness Protection" Chapter Fifty One: Wild Rides “How fucking bad is it?” Duo demanded, fumbling awkwardly to tear a strip off the hem of his shirt and press it to my wounded shoulder. “Won’t stop me,” I assured him, trying to tamp down the pain and focus on my job—my responsibility to protect his life. “We need Wufei and Cathy,” he said rather hoarsely. “I don’t know what to do for this, ‘Ro!” “First off, don’t panic,” I scolded, grimacing and setting my jaw, taking the cloth from him and pressing it against the wound a bit harder. “Too fuckin’ late.” “Second—when this ride ends, be prepared. The reinforcements might be waiting for us at the exit, if the others told them where they’d chased us.” “Jesus,” he whispered. “Why the fuck did you do that, ‘Ro? Why’d you take a goddamned bullet for me?” “Baka,” I chided, managing a wry smile. “Told you I’d do anything for you.” “I don’t fuckin’ deserve you,” he breathed in my ear, pulling me up against him in an almost painful embrace. “Shoulder—!” I hissed through gritted teeth. “Shit. Sorry.” He sat back, but kept his hands on my arms. I could feel the trembling in his fingers and read the stark terror in his eyes. “I’m not gonna die,” I promised a bit recklessly. While I thought I could probably hang on long enough to get us out of the ride and back to the surface, I wasn’t at all sure what would happen from there. The bleeding wasn’t so bad that I’d die of blood loss any time soon—but that also might mean part of the bullet was still in there, and would need to be removed later. Of course, that added to my conviction that they wanted Duo alive. They were using weapons with a small enough caliber to inflict less damage. On the heels of that thought came a nagging question about why Khushrenada had changed his mind about taking Duo alive. Clearly he thought Duo had something he wanted—and if he needed him alive, it was so he could reveal its location. Unless Duo was right about the “piece of ass.” But I doubted Khushrenada would risk a murder conviction for a simple fuck—no matter how great Duo was in the sack. A sharp slap against my cheek made me look up in surprise, to meet worried indigo eyes. “Stay with me,” Duo growled firmly. “I am.” I put a hand to my cheek, glaring accusingly. “You were drifting,” he pointed out. “Thought you were gonna pass out.” “I was thinking!” I snapped back. “Next time just—say my name or something!” He blinked, and then smiled, relief flooding his face. “You are gonna be okay, aren’t you?” “Think so,” I shrugged, immediately sorry I’d moved my shoulder as another wave of pain lanced through it. “Probably.” I darted him a resentful glance. “If you quit smacking me around.” The next thing I knew, his lips were practically devouring mine, and his arms were pulling me against him, though their gentleness assured me he was very conscious of my wound. He pulled back, running a thumb over my lips in a soft caress. “Don’t even think about dying, Yuy. I can’t live without you.” “Yeah—same here,” I admitted, leaning into his touch for a brief instant, and then looking past him to the flashing lights that signaled we were nearing the end of the ride. “Showtime,” I rasped out, pulling myself together and using my uninjured left arm to drag Duo down beside me. “Stay low.” “—says the wounded cop,” he chided, drawing his gun and preparing to help defend us. If the ride ended in a gradual slow-down, we might have had a chance to leave the cart and slip away in the shadows. But instead, it careened down a roller coaster of a hill, up and down several bouncy slopes, and then jerked to a sudden standstill directly beside an eerily-lit platform. “Ride’s over,” came a cold voice, accompanied by the cocking of a gun. “Toss your weapons out and put your hands behind your heads.” With both of us clinging to the handrail for dear life, there was no way we could have raised a weapon quickly enough to keep from being cut down. We had no choice but to surrender, though Duo did it with his usual defiance. “Fuck you!” Duo snarled, standing up to glare down the barrel of the gun the man in charge was holding. “He’s hurt. He can’t raise his hands!” The man’s gaze raked Duo with an appraising look and then dropped to me. “Detective Yuy, I presume?” I didn’t even bother to answer; I just chucked my gun out the other side of the cart, and struggled to my feet beside Duo, realizing with dismay that there were three men holding weapons on us. We were well and truly fucked. My lover followed suit, discarding the gun he’d still had loosely gripped in one hand. But then he apparently saw something in the lead agent’s menacing expression that made him take a half-step to shield me with his own body. “I’ll tell you right now, asshole—you kill him and you’ll have to kill me too.” The man gave a knowing leer. “Well—didn’t take you long to replace Merquise, did it?” He spared a glance at his cohorts. “Looks like we didn’t have to make up that story for the Tattler; they really were shackin’ up.” “So what if we were?” Duo snapped, putting both hands on his hips. “I hadda do something to stay entertained.” He glanced back at me, and I tried to look suitably casual when he threw me a reassuring wink before turning to face our captors again. “Don’t read too much into it, shithead. Who wouldn’t fuck a cop who looked like that?” Ah. Apparently he realized belatedly that he’d tipped our hand to the bad guys, and that they could use us as leverage against one another. He was trying for some quick damage control—thinking on his feet, like always. Meanwhile, I was just focused on staying on my feet, and not slumping to the floor of the cart again. My shoulder was throbbing in time with my pulse, and I could feel the slow spread of blood down both the front and back of my body. “Then what’s it to you if he dies or not?” taunted the man in charge. “He was a really good fuck,” Duo sneered in reply. “It’d be a waste. And—I’d kinda like a chance to do him again, once my business with Khushrenada’s done.” “You won’t be ‘doing’ anyone for awhile,” came the snide response. “An’ I wouldn’t count on living through whatever K. wants you for.” He let his gaze slide from Duo’s head to his toes, a vaguely speculative gleam in his eyes. “Talk about a waste—.” He shook his head, and then just as quickly was all business again. “Check them both for more weapons and tie ‘em up. I’ll have Jenkins bring the car.” He walked out, and the two men who’d been with him came forward and pulled us from the cart up onto the platform. Then they frisked us, removing the one throwing knife Duo still had strapped to his wrist, and confiscating his makeshift bombs. They also found my spare gun tucked in the back of my belt, and the extra clip of ammo in my pocket. The rest of our weapons had been left behind at the entrance booth when we’d had to bolt from our attackers. “What ‘n Hell’s this?” asked the brighter-looking of the two men, holding up the tennis-ball sized bomb Duo had constructed, while his partner was busy binding Duo’s wrists behind his back. Duo looked at it for a moment, and then shrugged. “One of those balls that makes stupid noises when you throw it for your dog,” he said casually. “Want me to show you how to turn it on?” “Naw—I c’n figure it out.” He started turning it this way and that, looking for a switch. And then he smiled brightly, flipping back the little cap Duo had told me about. “Got it.” Jesus Christ! I didn’t know whether to warn the man or not. On the one hand, I wanted to watch the fucker and his pal get blown to kingdom come; but on the other, I didn’t want to go with them. The same thought must have occurred to Duo, because he darted a quick look around, and then met my worried gaze and nodded towards the track. It was set down below the concrete platform on which we were standing, and was probably the safest place to be in case of an explosion. Right. I knew where to dive for cover—but the how was still up for grabs. The man triumphantly pushed the tiny button set into the ball, and a faint beeping sound started up. “See? Easy,” he gloated, tossing the ball from hand to hand. It occurred to me that as stupid as he and his cohort were, they were probably just cheap muscle hired for the job, rather than actual rogue FBI agents, as their leader seemed to be. “Nichols—you’re a fuckin’ idiot,” snarled his buddy, trying to grab the thing away from him. “We ain’t got time for this shit.” Well, wasn’t that the God’s honest truth? I looked over at Duo, and he mouthed “twenty seconds” at me. That meant we were already down to about ten. “It ain’t makin’ any stupid noises,” Nichols complained, glaring at the ball accusingly and giving it a hard shake. Goddamn! The man was going to blow us all to smithereens if he kept that up. Desperate for a distraction, I quickly put a hand to my bleeding shoulder, letting out a fairly theatrical moan, and staggering as if about to pass out. Nichols and his pal immediately turned their attention to me, the ball still clutched in one unwary hand. “What’sa matter? Cops can’t take a little pain?” “Fuckin’ hurts like Hell,” I said truthfully. And then I gave a malicious smile. “But not as much as what comes next.” “Huh?” “He means ‘fire in the hole’!” Duo said helpfully, throwing himself into the pit where the cart had stopped. Nichols and the other man turned sharply, and I followed Duo’s lead, diving headfirst onto the tracks just before the ear-splitting explosion took out our captors and half the wall of the House of Horrors. Smoke filled the close quarters, and debris rained down on us, as I crouched there, clutching my throbbing shoulder and biting back a scream. That leap hadn’t been without cost. Even though the bad guys hadn’t had time to tie me up, making a sudden move like I did had caused my shoulder to flame with new agony and well even more blood. “Duo?” I called hoarsely, blinking in the haze and trying to find the spot I’d seen him fall. “Here,” came a muffled reply. I found him on his knees, bent over and coughing weakly as he struggled against the rope binding his wrists. “You okay?” “Swell.” He looked up and blinked back tears the smoke had caused. “We’ve got to move. Their boss will have heard that, and he’ll be back.” “No shit.” He stumbled to his feet, and I pulled myself up, reaching for his bonds. But the sound of running feet and shouting voices changed my plans. “No time,” I gasped. “Let’s get out of here.” I paused only long enough to snatch my discarded gun from the floor between the tracks, and then we ran for our lives. It would have been comical under any other circumstances—Duo with his hands tied behind his back, and me wounded enough to need to lean on him for support. Between the two of us, we could barely manage a stumbling jog out of the ruins of the House of Horrors, and into the alley between more attractions. If our lives hadn’t been on the line, it might’ve been fucking hysterical; but as it was, I found nothing to laugh about. In all likelihood, we were about to be riddled with bullets. “There! By the cotton candy booth!” Duo and I ducked behind a building and crossed an asphalt walkway, slipping between two more booths and coming out into a sort of central hub. In the middle was a pavilion, with openings the size of garage doors at regular intervals, and the sound of loud carousel music bursting from within. We could glimpse the swirl of colors and motion of leaping painted animals through the nearest opening, and I immediately thought of hiding in the colorful scenery. Our pursuers would have a hard time spotting us amid so much noise and movement, and with any luck, if they stumbled across us, we could jump off on the opposite side and give them the slip. I half-dragged Duo over to it, shoving him on ahead of me. “Find something to hide behind, and if they spot us, we’ll jump off on the other side!” It was a good plan. Really. Right up until Duo darted across the platform, hands still bound and useless, only to have his braid wrap around the leg of one of the rearing horse figures as he turned too sharply. He was yanked to a sudden halt by the rope of hair tangled in the curve of the horse’s knee. “Ah! Fuck!” “Sonofa—!” I caught myself against the side of the wooden animal, tucking my gun into the back of my trousers, and reaching with my good arm to try to disentangle the heavy braid. “Jesus, Yuy—here they come!” Duo yelped in panic, gesturing with his chin to where I could see suited figures emerging from the direction of the ruined House of Horrors just as we passed one of the doorways. Three. There were three more. At least. And if the carousel completed its circular path when they were looking our way, we’d be sitting ducks. “Go!” Duo hissed at me, looking ruefully at his wayward hair. “There’s no time to untangle me. Get Chang and come back for me.” “No. I won’t leave you,” I argued reasonably, working at the braid and wondering how on Earth it had managed to twist itself so creatively around that stupid horse leg. “They’ll kill you!” I pushed Duo up against the horse he was stuck on, pressing myself over him and holding very still as we came around to where our pursuers were. I think we flew past the door quickly enough that they didn’t pick us out among the prancing wooden animals. But I saw them spreading out to look for us—two heading off to the sides, while the third entered the pavilion and stepped up onto the carousel to begin searching amid the animal figures. With a sharp jerk that cost me more pain than I’d have thought possible, I snapped off the horse leg, pulling Duo’s hair free, and shoving him towards the far side of the platform. “Run, Maxwell!” I ordered, reaching for the gun in my waistband. “And don’t look back.” I don’t know why I thought he’d obey me, when he’d proven time and again that taking orders was against his nature. For an instant, I thought maybe he hadn’t heard me over the jarring calliope music. “I go where you go,” he gasped defiantly, proving he was just being his usual, stubborn self. Resisting the urge to scream, I shoved him hard, raising my voice over the background noise . “You are useless with your hands tied! Get under cover, and let me pick off that asshole!” He finally gave in, darting past a cart drawn by two swans, and leaping nimbly from the platform. I lost sight of him as the carousel continued to turn, and forcibly put him out of my mind, concentrating on sidling between brightly colored, moving animals and trying to see where the FBI man had gone. But apparently the motion and lights were as much of a hindrance to me as they were to him. Or maybe it was just the fact that my vision was graying around the edges as the amount of blood I’d lost began to take its toll. Fuck! I was going to pass out and leave Duo a sitting duck for Khushrenada’s lackeys to pick up at their leisure. Jesus, where was Chang? I staggered, catching myself on a winged llama, and turned my head just quickly enough to catch a glimpse of my enemy ducking between wooden figures not far from where I’d last seen Duo. Before I could reverse direction and try to head him off without him realizing how close he was—the lights and music abruptly stopped, and the spinning ride began to coast to a halt. Someone had taken charge of the control room, and shut down everything at once. And I didn’t think it was Wufei.
In the sudden silence that fell over the deserted amusement park, I could clearly hear the pounding of my pulse in my ears, and the harshness of my breath. I moved one foot, very cautiously, only to have a floorboard squeak loudly, betraying my exact position. Freezing into immobility, I huddled by the wooden llama, one arm thrown over a wing for support, and tried to see where the rogue agent was. “Might as well come out, Yuy. I’ve got Maxwell,” came an almost matter-of-fact voice. “Sure you do,” I sneered, narrowing my eyes and trying to pinpoint his location. “He does,” came a weary affirmation. I groaned, closing my eyes in despair. “You’d best move where I can see you, or I may have to disappoint my boss and kill your little whore.” I staggered away from the support of the animal figure, and saw the same guy who’d gotten the drop on us at the end of the House of Horrors ride. He was a persistent bugger; I had to give him that much. He had Duo’s braid wrapped around a hand, and his gun pressed to my lover’s temple. It looked like he’d caught him trying to make it out one of the doors. “Toss the gun, Yuy.” “I haven’t got—.” “Bullshit! Toss it!” I reluctantly pulled the gun from my belt and threw it off to the side, and then pressed my free hand to my wounded shoulder, using the stab of pain to fend off unconsciousness a bit longer. “What now?” I sighed. Before he could answer, we heard gunshots off in the distance, and the faint echo of voices calling between the buildings. But it was too far to make out exactly what was being said. I raised my chin hopefully, giving our captor the most menacing look I could manage. “Sounds like maybe you lost your backup,” I pointed out. “Could be it’s just you and us.” “Then it’s a good thing I’ve got the gun.” He pulled Duo back against him, sliding an arm around his neck from behind and keeping the gun pointed at his head. “Let’s head for the main gate; our ride’s waiting.” I stumbled wearily off the platform and walked towards them, wanting to be close enough to take action if a chance for escape came along. Duo cursed as the man forced him towards the exit, resisting the forward motion and turning his head just a bit so he could look at the man out of the corner of his eye. “C’mon, man. Can’t we make a deal?” “No deals, Maxwell. You’ve got nothing I want.” Bullshit. I’d seen the way his eyes lingered on my lover the first time we encountered him, and I knew he was attracted—maybe even interested. And Duo did, too. He grimaced, closing his eyes momentarily. “Listen,” he said in a voice that could have been throaty and seductive, or maybe just choked up from the arm around his neck. “I c’n make it worth your while to let me go.” The man snorted in genuine amusement. “As pretty as you are, I doubt it.” Duo rocked his hips back so that his ass ground against the front of the man’s pants. “Wanna bet, sugar?” he crooned suggestively. I saw the flicker of pleasure across the man’s face, and the lustful gleam that entered his eyes. “Not gonna bet a million bucks,” he warned. “But I might be willing to have a go before I hand you over.” “A-a million?” Duo echoed faintly. “Yeah. Khushrenada upped the ante; that’s how much he wants you.” “Fuck!” “Yeah, maybe I will,” said the man, rubbing his cheek against the back of Duo’s hair, and smirking nastily. “But it won’t get you out of this mess.” “Nothing’s free,” Duo warned, his attention focused on the man holding him captive, but his eyes on me. “You want me to show you a good time—I need some incentive.” “I’d think being allowed to live would be payment enough,” replied the agent, his free hand catching hold of Duo’s chin, while he held the gun steadily against it. “Not for what I can do,” came the sultry reply. “Y’think a high roller like Merquise would settle for less than the best? You make me the right offer, and I’ll show you the time of your life.” The man frowned speculatively, once again studying the full lips and half-lidded eyes. “C’mon, hotshot—you know you want some; some of what men like Merquise and Khushrenada can afford.” With his hands conveniently bound behind his back, Duo was able to reach the man’s zipper, and run teasing fingers along its length. “I’m way more ass than you’ll ever have on a piddling little field agent’s salary. And you can either find out why—or hand me over to Khushrenada and never know what you’re missing.” Jesus—did he really think the guy was going to buy into this? Khushrenada was offering a fortune for Duo’s capture. There was no way our captor would throw that away for a quick fuck. And as I expected, he laughed at the suggestion. “I’m handing you over no matter how good a piece of ass you are. But if you treat me right, I might not kill the cop.” Duo’s expression brightened just a bit, and he shot me a lingering glance that was full of meaning. Then he tore his gaze away, turning his head towards the man. “I need more than that; let the cop go.” “No!” I blurted, realizing he was trying to barter for my life, not believing the man would honor a promise to let me live, or that Khushrenada wouldn’t kill me the minute we were in his hands. Duo shot me a look that was half-angry and half-pleading. “Yuy, shut up!” he snapped. “It’s over. Y’got that? Over! He’s takin’ me to Khushrenada, and there’s nothing gonna stop that. Just—walk away from this.” “No.” The man with the gun chuckled. “You haven’t got a choice, detective. Better listen to the whore and just get yourself out of here while you can.” “My job is to protect him,” I said evenly. “That ended when this goon got the drop on me,” Duo retorted. “Look—Khushrenada’s willing to talk. That means I’ve got something he wants. Maybe he’ll be willing to make a trade and let me live.” “You know better.” He gave a weak smile. “Yeah, but right now it’s my only chance.” The rogue agent laughed mockingly. “You two are just fuckin’ pathetic. If it was any more obvious you’re lovers, you’d have to wear a sign.” His cold gaze studied me, taking in the blood leaking from between my fingers. “Oughta put you out of your misery—but I think I’d rather let you watch.” He jerked his head towards a bench along one wall. “Go sit down before you fall down, detective.” I opened my mouth to protest, and he tapped the side of Duo’s head with the gun. “Hurry it up!” I had no choice but to stagger over and sink down onto the wooden bench, fighting another wave of dizziness. Duo apparently saw me sway and catch myself, because a frown creased his forehead. He tensed as the FBI agent’s hand slipped from around his neck and ran down the front of his chest. “I said let him go, asshole—not make him watch!” he barked out angrily. “You’re in no position to make demands,” the hated man reminded him, rubbing suggestively over the zipper of his jeans. “But you make me feel good enough, and we’ll leave the cop here, instead of taking him with us.” “You’ll leave him alive,” Duo insisted. “Alive.” “Deal!” With a husky groan, the agent groped the front of Duo’s jeans, and I was halfway to my feet before he swung the gun in my direction and clucked a mocking warning. “Uh-uh. Don’t make me break the deal already, detective.” Duo caught my eye and frowned just slightly in warning, then turned a perfectly dazzling grin to our captor. “C’mon, fucknuts—forget about him and concentrate on me.” The man turned Duo to face him, placing the muzzle of the gun up under his chin and studying his narrowed eyes. “Tell me—can those pretty lips of yours do anything but swear?” “You’d be fuckin’ amazed at what they can do,” bragged my lover. “Wanna taste?” He parted his lips and ran his tongue over them. The man gave a derisive snort. “You really are a fuckin’ whore—.” “Sure—for the right price,” Duo lied smoothly. I shifted slightly, wincing at the sharp stab of pain it caused in my wounded shoulder, and then froze in astonishment at a flicker of motion from the other side of the carousel. Oh God—did I dare hope the slim figure I’d seen duck around the corner was Wufei? Duo caught my wide-eyed look over the FBI agent’s shoulder, and I caught a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Then he very deliberately leaned in and pressed his lips to his captor’s. The man groaned into the kiss, releasing Duo’s chin and sliding a hand into his hair to hold him in place for the duration. And as much as I wanted to move—to leap to Duo’s defense—the gun muzzle was still pressed up under his chin. The risk was too great. If that gun went off—. Duo pulled back, chuckling warmly. “Not bad, sugar,” he crooned, doing his damnedest to distract the man. “But you’ve gotta move that gun if you want me to go down on you.” He smiled evilly. “And you know you want it.” Sure enough, the gun slid away; in fact, the man foolishly tucked it into the back of his pants before fumbling at his zipper with one hand, and pushing Duo to his knees with the other. And the instant Duo was below the line of fire, I heard the loud report of a gun, and the odious FBI agent fell backwards with a bullet in his head. “Chang!” Duo gasped, turning a pale face towards my partner, who crossed to him in a few quick strides. “Jesus—am I glad to see you—! Heero’s been shot!” I was busy struggling to get up when I felt an arm slide around my waist, and found Catherine helping me to my feet. “Shot?” she asked, quickly spotting the blood-soaked shoulder and tugging the fabric away so she could look at the wound. “How long ago?” “Ten—maybe fifteen minutes,” Duo answered, shaking off the ropes Wufei had untied from his wrists and rushing to my side. “Can you fix him up, Cath?” “I’ll do my best—as soon as we get away from here—.” I shook free of her and pulled Duo into my arms, ignoring my wound. “Goddamn fucker—touching you!” I spat angrily. “Don’t ever ask me to sit by and watch something like that again!” He chuckled softly, relief tingeing his voice. “Can’t promise that, love. If it’d save your life—.” “No!” I said sternly. “There’s nothing worth letting slime like that put his hands on you!” “Shh,” he soothed, kissing my cheek softly and running his hands through my hair. “It’s over. Never again.” He pushed me to arm’s length and smiled gently. “I think it bothered you more than it bothered me.” “I thought you hated being called a whore.” “I do—but I wasn’t exactly in a position to get pissed about it right then.” “You’re not a whore!” His smile was warmer than sunshine. “Thanks,” he whispered, pulling me close again. “If we could get back to the business at hand,” Wufei cut in brusquely. “We still have at least one enemy out there—the man at the car—and we need to get the Hell out of here in case he’s called in more reinforcements.” “Fuck, yes!” Duo breathed, taking Catherine’s place supporting me, as we headed out of the park and towards our escape vehicle. “How many adversaries did you disable?” Chang asked, walking slightly ahead of us and scanning for threats. “Two at the limo,” I managed hoarsely, my adrenaline edge fading and leaving me feeling even weaker than before. “One before the House of Horrors—three inside—two at the end—.” “Then there’s the bastard you just took out,” Duo added. “And by the way, Chang—thanks for having the best timing ever.” “You’re welcome. Catherine wounded one agent when they first came after us, and I shot two more on the way to the carousel just now—so that accounts for one wounded and eleven dead. If six came in each vehicle—we should only face one remaining enemy.” “That’d be nice,” Duo sighed, tightening his grip on my waist. “How ya holdin’ up, love?” “Barely,” I admitted. “Don’t worry,” came Catherine’s voice, calm and confident, in spite of our situation. “It probably looks worse than it is because of the blood. If you’re still on your feet after this long, the wound shouldn’t be fatal. We’ll stop at a pharmacy and get you patched up in no time.” “God, woman—!” Wufei blurted, sounding impressed. “Does nothing faze you?” “I’ve helped treat men with injuries inflicted by lion claws,” Catherine replied matter-of-factly. “It takes quite a lot to gross me out.” “Some gal, eh?” Duo teased. “Yes, she is,” came Chang’s frank reply. They talked some more, but I didn’t really catch much of it as I faded in and out, my senses occupied with the pounding of blood in my ears and the effort it took to draw breath as Duo helped keep me stumbling along. Perhaps it was my attention to keeping my feet under me that made me notice rather insignificant things like the way the leftover rain puddles had traces of white at their edges—hints of brine that made me think of the ocean, and how much Duo wanted to get back there some day. And I really hoped that “some day” would include me—if we could get rid of the bullet that felt like it was burning through my shoulder, and bind the wound before I’d lost too much blood. We reached the main gate not a moment too soon—as I felt my knees begin to buckle. Duo caught me and eased me to the ground, crouching beside me. “Hey—don’t quit on me now.” “I’ll get the car,” Chang offered, pointing to a nearby SUV that had apparently been driven right through the chain link fence. “Looks like no one’s in it.” “Careful—,” I gasped. Nothing had been easy so far—there was no reason to expect it to be that way now. He waved back dismissively, and cautiously crept up on the vehicle, checking it inside and out, and even underneath. “All clear!” he called to us. Duo and Catherine pulled me upright again, and the three of us started across the asphalt, eager to reach shelter and transportation. Maybe it was because I was still in a muddled state of pain, but I was keeping my gaze fixed on the horizon, and so I happened to spot the motion of a figure emerging from between buildings and raising a weapon. Of course—there had to be one more, didn’t there? Wufei was pulling open the back door of the car, unaware of the emerging threat off to his side—but before I could even fumble for a gun I no longer had, Catherine shoved away from me, putting two fingers to her lips and whistling loudly and sharply. The man who’d been sighting on my oblivious partner, swung towards the girl, who was already balancing a gleaming blade in her hand and drawing back her arm to throw. Before he could bring his weapon to bear, the knife flew from her hand and took him squarely in one wide, startled eye. He stiffened and fell backwards, spread-eagled on the ground. Chang turned a stunned gaze on the girl, his jaw agape. “Cath—you—.” “Nice throw,” Duo said with a grin. “You saved my life,” Wufei pointed out. She shrugged modestly. “Perhaps I have a vested interest in it.” The next thing we knew, Chang crossed the intervening space and pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately. “Well, shit—he didn’t do that when I saved his life,” muttered my lover snidely. I gave a weak laugh, leaning even harder on Duo for support as he glared at Wufei. “Let ‘em have their moment,” I rasped hoarsely. “Moment?” he scoffed. “At this rate it’ll be more like an hour!” When the enamored couple still showed no sign of stopping anytime soon, Duo helped me into the back seat of the car, rummaging for a discarded jacket from one of the rogue agents and bundling it under my head. “Soon as the lovebirds come up for air, we can swing by the entrance booth for our duffel bags and hit the road, lover.” I managed a feeble nod, catching his hand and bringing it to my lips. “I love you,” I said firmly. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You know that, don’t you?” “Kinda got that impression,” he smiled back, running a hand down my cheek, his expression slightly melancholy. “Just—if anything should happen—.” “Shush.” I gripped his hand tighter, not liking the fatalistic tone. “Nothing will happen to you. It’s over. We’re going to the courthouse and walk right in—no more ducking and hiding.” He opened his mouth, and then shut it, smiling and nodding.
“Whatever you say, love. Whatever you say.”
tbc... |
