Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Everbody Breaks ❯ A Conditional Surrender ( Chapter 11 )

A Conditional Surrender

By Kai

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Gundam Wing - and trust me - the boys are VERY thankful for that fact.

Ratings: NC-17 (sexual content and language) but not in this part, the rating is staying though because it applies to most of the story.

Warnings: Yaoi, 1x2x5x3x4 but not in this part... next part, maybe...

Special Thanks To Z for taking on the horrible and terrifying job of betaing for me. To think she was actually HAPPY to have the job.

Summary: Who was the REAL target the bomb was supposed to take out?

A Conditional Surrender

By Kai

Alisa's husband took her death hard and I found myself holding him as Agent Russo went to speak to a neighbor about keeping the older man company. No relatives had been listed under Alisa's contact details besides her husband and I knew that they had no children. They were the only family each other had had.

I didn't know what to make out of the situation. I understood that he was in pain but why he'd chosen to cling to me in search of some sort of comfort instead of Agent Russo, who was older and closer, I just couldn't figure out. He'd lunged at me and it had taken a lot for me not to jump away. Russo had left about ten minutes ago and though I'd maneuvered myself and the man I was attempting to comfort on the sofa, I just couldn't get my mind to stop wandering and focus on the situation.

It kept insisting that I think about what it would be like if this had happened to me. A man was falling apart in my arms and all I could think of was the fact that by accepting the others' offer for help, I'd put all their lives in unnecessary danger. If any of them got hurt before Une and the others were back it would be entirely through the fault of my own selfishness. I didn't know what to feel guiltier about, thinking of myself in the face of someone else's pain or thinking only of my own wants when I should have considered the other pilots' safety.

Two minutes later, Russo came back with a young woman who lived a couple of doors away. I had come to the conclusion that I would just have to make sure that any risks the others might have to take, I took for them instead.

I made a move to the door where Russo had retreated to and found my arm caught in a frim grip. I had thought I would be able to go once the neighbor arrived. Apparently, Alisa's husband had other ideas.

The neighbor had sat on the couch behind him, her hands laid gently on his shoulders, but he didn't seem to notice as he watched me intently, pain momentarily pushed aside as he spoke. "You said you were Commander Chang?"

"Yes."

"Wufei Chang?"

I had a strange sense of deja vu for some reason. "Yes."

He gave me a breif attempt at a smile that fell flat. "She spoke fondly of you all the time, used to say that you were everything she would have wanted in a son. I'm sorry I missed the few times she had you over - work... funny, it doesn't seem so important now though. All those nights and days I was at work when I could have been with her... My father always told us that taking care of our families should come first before anything else. 'Protect and provide' he always used to say but I think Alisa had the right idea. She always said that a family had to 'protect and provide for each other', that it wasn't any one person's job but everyone's job. What my dad taught me, though, that stayed with me. I couldn't let my duty go... I just didn't realize that the duty I had to Alisa was more important than any duty I might have had towards anything or anyone else... Son, if you have anyone who's dear to you, remember that they feel the same way about you that you feel about them. If you want to protect them, they'll want to protect you. If you want to give them everything they want - they'll want to do the same for you. The thing you have to learn is that they can. They can do it. I learned that but I didn't accept it. Families have to share it or they'll fall apart when they lose someone..." By the time he finished talking he was starring blankly at his hands.

I don't know what made me do it but I was suddenly kneeling in front of him. "Even if a family is entirely lost outside of a single person there is still the possibility of 'family'."

He just hsook his head slowly, not bothering to look at me.

I took his hands in my own, surprised at how large they were. He blinked at me, confussed. "I lost my family when I was young and I lost my Clan in the first war but then I gained a family later during the wars. I didn't want it and I wasn't looking for it but it happened anyway. Family isn't easily defined, it never should have been easily defined. Perhaps 'family' happens when you least expect it or want it for a reason." I pulled a buisness card from my pocket and slid it into his hands. "Alisa thought of me as a son you said. I didn't see that - maybe because I wasn't ready to - but I'm ready to accept more now. I have to do my job right now but if you ever need me all you have to do is call."

He stared at the card a moment, then got up and went to the kitchen counter. When he turned back to me he had a piece of paper held out to me with his name, Joshua - I'd read it somewhere but I'd forgotten, and a phone number on it. "Same goes for you young man."

I got to my feet, took the paper, and nodded in answer. No words were necessary after that so Agent Russo and I silently took our leave.

It was when we first entered the car that I caught Agent Russo watching me with a small smile on his face. I raised an eyebrow in question and waited.

He just shrugged and his smile turned into a grin that looked alittle too much like 'I told you so' for my comfort.

*************************

When we got back to the HQ, I sent Russo home to get some rest as I was going to need him awake and attentive at 11:30 in the morning. It didn't give him much time but six hours of sleep was better than no sleep at all.

I grabbed some soup and a biscuit from a nearby coffee shop. When I finished I walked the five blocks to the Preventers' Hospital. It was time to do my duty as Sally's 'brother' and while I was there I could get updates on the conditions of the others and stop by the sixth floor, where the forensics labs and offices were located.

Unfortunately there was some confussion on my arrival. Quite a few of the staff knew me despite the rank gap. I'd trained a number of them after all, but the hospital staff wasn't solely made up of Agents - in fact the number of civilians out-numbered the Agents two to one.

So when I arrived the nurses on duty at intensive care were all civilian and they weren't willing to accept that a young man, such as myself, could possibly be the Head of the Preventers Agency. I was hard-pressed not to be amused by it though. If the civilian nurses were so adament about doing their jobs so well it was almost redundant to have posted guards around the intensive care unit.

Even when I showed my identification they still chose to hold me at the desk until they were able to get someone to confirm what I was saying. Luckily the Head of Adminstration, Sergeant Troy, walked by and his word was good enough for them. I felt myself somewhat relieved that Eric had sent out a memo to all department heads concerning my temporary status change when he sent out the one concerning the promotions of the other Agents and himself to Captain. It saved me from having to explain to the Sergeant about why I was no longer a Captain, though, he probably would have figured it out on his own if it hadn't been since he was far from stupid and he worked in the hospital where Une and the others were bed ridden.

The nurses didn't bother apologizing because they'd been doing their jobs and I found myself repecting them for it. I'd met a few people who would twist themselves into pretzels just to please a person of authority in the hopes that it would gain them something and I desperately wanted to avoid any more situations of a similar nature.

I ran into Tabitha's husband when I finally managed to get into intensive care and he told me that Sally's husband had just left. His sister had dragged him down to the cafeteria to eat.

Truthfully out of them all, only Sally could have been placed in a private room since she was fine except for being in a coma, but I'd wanted them to be in a secure place. Besides it was easier to guard intensive care than several private rooms. Of course, that was only going to last until tomorrow when I got Agent Sebastian's report and I knew who to trust. When I did I wanted all of the Senior Agents seperated because I didn't want to give our bomber the opportunity for another attempt. One had been more than enough.

When I got to Sally's bed all I could do was stare helplessly at her and fight back the burning in my eyes. The whole left side of her face was bruised, there were a variety of others over her arms, probably due to shrapnel, and she was pale. She'd always been fair-skinned, despite her mixed background but she was so plae that the bruise stood out like a neon sign. It might have been due to lack of make-up but I doubted it. I suddenly wished that she was awake so I could tell her about the others and what was happening between us, I would have even been thankful to hear her teasing comments. I knew she would have more then a few. For a 'lady' she could be unbelievably perverted when she chose to.

Slowly I moved to the bedside; all too aware of the sounds of the machines around us, the sound of my boots against the tiled floor, and the medicinal and sterile smells floating through the air. It was wrong. She should not be here; she should not be the one in the bed. Yet she was.

I started to reach for her hand and found myself hesitating as my chest grew inexplicably tight. It was a battle to finish the movement and take her cool hand in my own. It was surprisingly soft though there were obvious callouses on her palms. It amazed me for some reason, that my hands had grown to be larger than hers over the course of the year.

She'd never been 'physically' big but she'd appeared larger than she actually was because she'd had so much personality that it seemed almost as if her body was incapable of containing it all and it spilled out aroung her, taking up any and all the extra space it could. Seeing her so still and devoid of life was like having someone throw ice water in my face; disturbing and really uncomfortable.

"Sally." My voice came out as a croak, and I took a deep breath - starting again. "Sally, I need you to wake up." Even saying that felt as though I'd said far too much. My lips were pressed tightly together and I couldn't say anything else.

It reminded me of how Meiran had looked at the end and I found myself feeling Sally's wrist in an almost desperate search for her pulse, despite the heart machines beeping in the background. When I found it, it was as if my strength flowed out of me at it's discovery. I had to get out of there. I kissed her forehead lightly and moved off to see the others.

*************************

Noin was on her stomach when I went to see her and the painkillers she'd been given made it a short visit because she couldn't focus on the questions I asked her long enough to answer them. Zechs was in surgery and from what I learned from the doctor checking on Noin, the doctors had become confident that they would be able to save his arm.

Tabitha was asleep but her husband, Carl, told me he'd let her know that I'd stopped by when she woke up.

I'd saved Une's visit for last because I had a strong feeling that she'd be awake and if she was, she wasn't goign to let me leave without briefing her on the situation and hearing everything she had to say on the subject; internal injuries be damned. She could probably give Heero a run for his money... or gun, in his case.

I wasn't disappointed.

I'd barely steeped into her area when I heard a whispered bark, I hadn't thought it possible to have that particular combination but Une managed to pull it off somehow. "Chang!"

I saluted her when I reached the bed. "Commander Une."

She glared at me, which was somewhat lessened by various tubes and wires running over her prone body. "Status."

I quickly glanced around and was relieved that everyone was out of earshot, probably in an attempt to preserve their hearing from an irritated superior officer who was distinctly unhappy about being bed ridden; a wise move. I began to report everything that I knew and done since the phone call from Eric. When I'd finished she was silent for about five minutes before speaking softly, but in a way that showed she didn't disagree with my decisions or actions.

"The other pilots are coming?"

"Yes. Duo, Trowa and Heero are joining temporarily and Quatre is taking a more active interest in the board, along with Relena."

She nodded, "That will make the new training facility on L4 move along more quickly and smoothly than I'd anticipated. It was good thinking to push it through so quickly with what's happening right now. But you still have no idea who's responsible..."

"No ma'am. I'll have a better idea of what's going on after the new Captains report and once I'm done here I'm planning on stopping by forensics to see if they've found anything."

She looked down her long nose at me. "And when do you plan on getting some rest Chang?"

Something in the way she was looing at me reminded my of my... lovers. They wouldn't let me get away without resting. Even if it involved tying me to a bed - something Quatre would undoubtedly enjoy. So when I answered Une I did so knowing what I said was true. "Well, it's about 9:00 now and the others should be at HQ between 11:30 and 12:00. I'll manage to convince them to let me finish going over the reports before they drag me to a bed somewhere... so I'd have to say that I'll more than likely be in a bed in about six hours or so."

She watched me a few moments and nodded. "Good. Don't forget Chang, I am well aware of the fact that a little more than thirteen hours ago you were on sick leave."

"Yes and a little less than six hours ago you got out of surgery, Commander. This would be one of those times Duo would say 'pot meet kettle and place nice'.

She couldn't keep her lips from twitching into a slight smile. "He would say something to that effect wouldn't he. Mischievious rapscallian."

"Lady, such language."

She snorted. "Lady is a title, not a trait. Now, I want you to listen to what I remember before the dungeon master masquerading as a nurse comes to chase you off. I don't have much to tell you that you haven't already figured out on your own. The bomber had to have known we would all be there early enough to have set the bomb and left. I arrived early and saw no one leave the room, I also noticed nothing that rose my suspiscions. And I am by nature a suspiscious person. However, I did smell something similar to burnt toast in the room, though I didn't think anything of it until I woke up from surgery to discover that my insides had been turned into mashed potatoes. Now, from what I've found out from the doctors and nurses about the injuries we all sustained I believe that the bomb was set near the foot of the conference table near where Agent Cantonelli and Alisa were sitting on the left hand side."

I frowned. "But if the bomber wanted to take out the senior officers it would have been a more logical moved to place the bomb in the center of the conference table, underneath where it wouldn't be seen, unless it were a more powerful bomb... but it wasn't..."

She nodded at me. "Exactly. Now think about the position of the bomb Chang. Where was it?"

"You think it was at the foot of the table to the left."

"Right, and who would normally sit there during a meeting of the senior officers?"

I blinked at her in sudden understanding and felt the world spin around me dizzily for a moment. "I would. They weren't trying to kill you, they were trying to kill..."

"You."

I took a deep breath and shook my head. "It's only speculation at the moment, though, we don't have the reports to back it up."

Her steely eyes drilled into mine. "Yet. We don't have the evidence yet, Chang. Listen to me. I don't want you to go anywhere without one of the other ex-pilots with you. Do you hear me? That's an order Chang."

I felt completely off-balance. "Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now, get to Forensics. See the evidence and figure out who the bomber is so I can use him for target practice when I'm out of here in a few days."

"Yes ma'am." I saluted her and left her, nodding to Carl and Chen, Sally's husband, on my way to the elevators . I was suddenly dreading what I would find out when I got to the labs because if Une was right. Then everything that had just happened was all my fault.