Disclaimer: I don't own them and I don't make any money off of them.
Warnings: Male/Male sex, graphic, language, violence,past NCS.
Shinigami's Lover III
Sequel to Firefight
Lair
Shy's eyes widened as they recognized Duo and saw Soda showing large, sharp,
teeth in a low growl. He wisely didn't move.
Duo ordered Soda to be quiet and then cautiously allowed the young man to speak after he whispered harshly, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Shy stared and then he replied, "I go with whoever has the money."
Duo felt a chill run up his spine at the dead, unfeeling, mercenary tone of that. "How about if I pay you more than your current boss?" he asked the prostitute.
Shy's eyes went from confusion to calculating in an instant. "How much more?"
Duo named a number and Shy became eager. He asked though, and rightly so, "I need out of here. They said that they would kill me if I crossed them, but I've been trying to find a way out anyway." He shivered. "I don't like this place and, " his face hardened, "nobody OWNS me."
"I can get you out," Duo promised, though the odds weren't that certain.
Shy looked him up and down. "You look dangerous. I bet you can." He stood up and Duo kept hold of him, not trusting him for a moment as Shy asked suspiciously, "Okay, so what do you want in return?"
Duo knew Shy's type. He would never believe that Duo was doing anything out of the goodness of his heart. Duo said simply, "A guide and maybe a bit of 'fringe' afterward." The last was a lie, but something Shy would understand.
Shy gave a grin that was more a sneer. "You don't lie real well. You don't want nothing like that from me." He shrugged. "Whatever. I'll take you down the way a bit and tell you where to go, but I'm not sticking my neck out for anything you got."
"All right," Duo replied, thinking through likely ways of incapacitating Shy without killing him. He couldn't afford to let Shy go free. "Deal," he said, "Lead on."
Duo put Shy in front of him and he kept his gun poised. Soda clearly didn't like Shy and he was tense and ready to spring. Duo knew that the dog had a phenomenal sense when it came to judging people. When they neared an intersection, Duo paused and knew that Soda was right when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up.
"Stand right there and don't move," Duo ordered Shy.
Shy seemed suddenly nervous. He wasn't moving, but Duo could see his shoulders hunching and twitching as if he longed to duck or run. That told Duo all he needed to know.
"Lay flat on the floor," Duo told him, "It's safest."
Shy gave him a quick, frightened glance even as he did fall flat to the floor. It gave Duo a clear shot when the men came boiling from both sides of the corridor. He shouted, "Heel, Soda!" even as he fired his weapon and backed up.
"Freeze, or you're dead!" A voice shouted behind him and Duo stopped and didn't move. A few bullets pinged around him and Soda looked ready to leap for someone's throat.
"Soda, yellow!" Duo snapped even as he held out his hands and someone from behind him yanked his gun away.
Shy stood up, shivering. Maybe he realized that Duo had just saved his life, but whether he did or didn't, his next words made Duo regret it. "Assholes! You almost shot me!"
One of the men glared at him and it was clear he disliked Shy intensely. "Sorry, sir," he bit out. "We didn't have much choice."
Shy glared back and tossed his chin at Duo. "He cared more about my skin than you did! Don't think Reich isn't going to hear about this! Take him to lock up until Reich says what to do with him. I won't be surprised if he puts your balls on a plate and feeds them to you. His plans are almost complete and you let armed troops wander the hallways."
"We captured the main force at once," the man replied angrily and Duo started in shock, "and we were patrolling the area looking for lone operatives. You, sir, were warned not to leave your quarters."
Shy suddenly looked very arrogant. "Nobody tells me what to do, certainly not you! I had my reasons." He spun on his heel and stalked off.
The man glared after him as he motioned men to search Duo for more weapons. "Well, my boss's fuck toy doesn't tell me what to the hell to do either," he muttered under his breath as he took out a com unit. Opening a line, he said, "Commander Reich? We discovered a lone operative in section A-3. Orders?" The man listened intently and then nodded, "Yes, sir." He closed the com unit and turned to his men. "Take him to operations."
Duo felt as if he were going to be sick. How had their forces been defeated so easily? Was there some detail that Heero had forgotten? Some obstacle that Wu Fei and his team hadn't been able to avoid? Were they alive or dead?
"If that dog makes one wrong move, he's dead. Got that?" A man at Duo's elbow nervously warned him. "The boss will probably put him down quick, but it's always better to wait for the order. "
"Soda, yellow," Duo said almost casually and the man scowled at him. Duo shrugged. "He wouldn't believe me if I said 'green' right now."
"You're awfully damn cool for someone who might be about to die," another man noted in confusion.
Duo grinned at him and his eyes were full of the death and destruction of a war as he replied chillingly, "Shinigami doesn't need to be afraid."
Guns were trained on him a little more intensely and Duo made them even more nervous by ignoring them. Walking quietly to their operations room, he quickly scanned the banks of machines, readouts, and number and type of personnel. Soldiers, Duo quickly decided, rebels, dedicated, and they had a plan. That last put him on alert. He could see that they were operating efficiently, no one turning and talking much or asking questions. They all knew their tasks.
Shit! Duo thought. From the monitors, he could see Wu Fei and his men seated on the floor of some sort of bay, looking sullen and very much captured. Duo tore his gaze away as a man in fatigues turned from a group of soldiers and strode towards him with a self satisfied expression.
"Let me guess," Duo said and the man frowned. "Romafeller foundation. Big weapon. Big threat. Think you can force the alliance to bow down to you demands."
The man looked like he was at attention, his hand clasped behind him, and he studied Duo minutely.
"Gundam pilot... 02... Duo Maxwell... soon to be deceased, unless he cooperates," The man replied.
"Better start digging the grave," Duo said with a shrug.
"I thought he was just a cop," Shy said as he approached from another quarter. He looked nervous, like a deer ready to bolt at a wrong move.
The man said without turning, but irritation clear in his voice. "You did your duty. You don't have any purpose here now. Go."
"Back... back to the neighborhood?" Shy wondered.
The man sighed as if impatient at clear idiocy. "No, we're done with that operation. We used the gangs to sell our drugs to raise the money for our assault. Obviously, since we are now implementing that assault, we no longer need to raise money."
Shy sighed in relief. "Good. I-I don't wanna go back there."
The man scowled now. "That is unfortunate, since going back is exactly what I have planned for you. Deiter, escort Shy to the holding cell until our operation is complete, then you can eject him."
"Eject?" Shy's voice quavered. "But, we're miles away from anything! I- How will I..."
The man shrugged. "What's that to me? Deiter..."
A beefy man grabbed Shy by a thin arm and forced the boy to follow him out of operations. Shy looked in shock.
"I always wonder why people expect to be rewarded by evil lunatics," Duo commented.
The man eyed him. "If you cooperate, I assure you that you will be safe. You may even join my organization."
Duo smirked. "I never learned to trust anyone. I'm not about to trust you." He sighed and looked about as if he were bored. "Besides, I don't think I'd like joining the losing side."
The man looked puzzled. "You don't really care if you die, do you? You seem to be courting a violent reaction from me. Why?"
"You got it all wrong," Duo told him. "I'm just used to this kind of thing. You're used to people being scared shitless... like Shy."
The man was trying his best to figure Duo out. He turned to his men. "He's too confident. I don't like it. Expand sensor range and keep your eyes on all monitors."
"That won't save you." Duo told him.
The man's head jerked back to stare at him. "Why is that?"
Duo shrugged. "Do you have a name? You know mine. Seems only fair."
"Commander T. A. Crabtree," the man replied in a very correct fashion. "It's the name of your new leader, so I suggest you commit it to memory."
Duo smirked. "Oh, but I thought that you said that I was going to die?"
Crabtree smirked back. "Eventually, but first I think I want to extract some information. I'll leave that to my experts while I continue to oversee the destruction of a few major capitols."
"And how do you think you're going to do that?" Duo wanted to know.
"This is a weapon's lab," the man replied. "Imagine what you will, it won't be half as accurate as the truth. Benning?" He called to another man, "Take him down to med lab and tell them to contact me for instructions."
"The dog, sir?" the man asked anxiously.
Crabtree flicked eyes at Soda and then saw an unconscious tenseness in Duo's face. "A guarantee," Crabtree said. "If you cooperate I'll let the dog live. If you don't, I'll have him dissected before your eyes."
Duo blinked and then went cold. He didn't reply to that.
Crabtree grunted and then ordered curtly. "Gas the dog and throw him in with the others."
Duo kept his eyes on the floor as he walked in front of his guard out of the operations room.
"You are so pretty," the man said in a low tone.
Duo tensed and a switch inside of his mind clicked.
"That hair... looks so soft..." The man continued. "I wonder what it would look like all spread out along with you?"
"You wouldn't live long enough to find out if you touch me," Duo replied in a deadly voice.
"Big words," the man said derisively. "But I have the gun."
Duo snorted. "You really think that matters?" He looked over his shoulder. "It always amazes me how intelligent a man can be... and how very stupid he can be at the same time."
The man guarding him was older, balding, and had a scar across one lip. His narrowed eyes were angry and the gun was pointed at Duo's chest. "Stupid?" the man grunted. "All I have to do is tense my finger and you will cease to be a problem for anyone but the maintenance crew."
Duo shook his head. "Just as I said, stupid."
The man's hand snaked out and grabbed Duo's braid. He yanked Duo forward and reversed his gun, intending to pistol whip Duo for his insult. Before he could bring the butt of his gun down, a steel strong arm locked around his throat and a hand grabbed his wrist. There was the audible sound of bones breaking. The gun dropped and Duo caught it deftly as Heero let the now dead man fall to the floor in a boneless heap.
Duo grinned. "Nice of you to come to the rescue, but I was just about to take him out, baby."
Heero was glaring down at the corpse. "Never hurts to be thorough."
"I guess not." Duo looked at Heero's face and saw a darkness there that he was sure was on his own face. He gave the corpse a small kick with his booted toe. "Why is there always one of these guys in every crowd?"
Heero's expression darkened even more. "Leave him to rot, we have a mission to complete."
Duo nodded. "Let's go. Do you know where the other guys are?"
Heero nodded. "This complex has sealed sections. I- I forgot that. Wu Fei and they others were sealed in a corridor and gassed."
Duo looked at the seal next to him. He touched it, examined it, and then said. "This is new construction, Heero. You didn't forget, they added them. See? It's a total crappy rush job. It's not even an air tight seal, they just drilled it into the wall and puttied it."
Heero looked so relieved that Duo grabbed him by the collar and pulled him in close. "Get your head together, Heero," he admonished. "I need you. All those guys need you. Okay?"
Heero nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'm on it," he said, his voice firming. "I took out the cameras and short circuited the seals. I didn't have time for anything else."
"It'll be enough," Duo told him. "Come on. Let's ride to the rescue."
Heero said in concern. "Soda?"
Duo refused to look at him and only said, as he began a brisk jog down the corridor, "Gone."
Duo knew that Soda would never make it to the holding cell before their escape was noticed. To get Wu Fei and the others out would require some violence. Duo didn't have any illusions as to how quickly a bothersome animal would be dispatched. He had always known that his line of work was dangerous and that the odds of something happening to himself or Soda were always there, but it didn't make it any easier to bear now that it had finally happened.
As they slowed and peered around a corner. Heero touched Duo's shoulder. He twitched under the touch and Heero drew back his hand quickly, realizing that Duo was still raw from the guard's advances. "You get your head on straight, too," he said, hating to have to say that, but knowing that look in Duo's eyes, the one that was all Shinigami.
Duo shivered and made a visible effort. "I'm with you," he told Heero, meaning all of him, not just the panicking, abused, child inside of him that would kill for revenge.
They slipped down another corridor and then stopped, backs pressed against a wall. Around a corner, two guards were standing at a thick, hatch door. Heero indicated that Wu Fei and the others were on the other side of it.
Two men, neither of them perfect, against an entire installation of evil men, with the lives of many, many people depending on them... Duo grinned, Heero grinned back, both of them feeling the familiar adrenaline rush. Duo leaned in suddenly and gave Heero a quick kiss, the briefest touch of lips to lips, and then he was raising his gun and nodding his readiness. Heero nodded back, raising his own gun, and then they stormed around the corner, guns firing with deadly accuracy.