Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Price They Paid ❯ Duo of All Trades: Part I ( Chapter 24 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The Price 24: Duo of All Trades: Part I

~ * ~

Betaed by Skippyscatt

Authors note: The story skips to the next morning.

~ * ~

Heero sighed and stood up. He had known this was a bad idea from the minute he'd seen the
Leo. Now he was sure.

Duo had pulled all the servomotors from the suit. And the hydraulic hoses, and the circuit boards
and the wiring and . . . Heero realized that he was getting frustrated. He knew why Duo was so
set on getting the Leo going again. But all they really had was a shell. Empty and sad. Heero
wondered if Duo realized what a job they had in front of them.

Duo blew his bangs away from his sweaty forehead. They had a hell of a job in front of them,
but he knew they could do it. He just hoped that the others didn't get discouraged. He could
make any parts they couldn't find, if he didn't have to install everything too. So he just started
making a schedule.

He settled at the small desk and made lists; lists of parts, lists of machinery, lists of wire and
diodes and servos and chips. He sent all the lists to Heero's email and to the local WEI
headquarters, then he bit his lip, "Heero? Zechs? Will he want in on this?"

Zechs leaned over Duo's shoulder making him flinch. "Sorry. Yes, I want in on this. It's a good
thing. I found out about Mick. He got some sort of radiation poisoning on a secret station in the
war. Leaking power plant. It affected his brain, his immune system and his lymphatic system.
He's got a few months at best. So, yes, I'd like to help."

Duo grinned at him over his shoulder. "So the great prince doesn't mind getting his hands dirty?"

Zechs shrugged stolidly. "Depends on the kind of 'dirt' we're talking about."

Heero shuddered at the tone of voice but smiled at Duo's open mouthed expression.

"I'll start taking the servos apart. How are the joints?"

Duo shrugged. "I haven't looked at them yet. Zechs?" Zechs turned to look at him from where he
was sitting. "You inspect the joints in detail for me?"

Zechs stretched slowly, showing off a flat abdomen and broad shoulders. "Sure. 'Fei, you want
to help?"
Wufei surreptitiously wiped his sweaty palms on his jean clad thighs. "Sure. You poke, I'll take
notes."

"And why is that? You're smaller than me." Zechs sauntered away, braid swinging.

"Because the last time I actually tried to examine a joint on a Leo. I nearly lost a finger. I'm
keeping my hands out of that from now on. I have ten fingers for a good reason. None of them
are spares and I intend to keep all of them, thank you very much."

Zechs turned to Wufei, glancing sharply at his hands. "I expect details, Chang. You aren't the
careless type. So details. Come on."

Wufei sighed, he knew that Zechs was going to have a fit when he was told that the reason he'd
almost lost a finger in a Leo was because he was booby trapping it. He followed dragging his
feet a little.

~ * ~

Now out of ear shot of Duo and Heero, Zechs took both of Wufei's hands in his. "I see, right
here." Zechs touched a deep scar on the back of Wufei's right middle finger near the knuckle. "It
looks bad."

Wufei clenched his fist. "It was. I nearly lost my finger. The only thing that saved it was, I bleed
like a pig. The blood made my finger slick enough that I could pull it out before the joint rotated
all the way."

Zechs stroked the clenched fist until it relaxed into a slender, clever hand again. Wufei watched,
startled as Zechs massaged his hand. "You don't have to do that. It doesn't hurt, unless I get
really cold. Then it stings some. Booby trapping a Leo is hard at the best of times."

Zechs surprised Wufei by ignoring that. He held Wufei's hand in his and unconsciously rubbed
at the scar as if to erase it. Wufei made a soft whimpering sound. No more than a breath of
sound, but Zechs dropped his hand and turned away with a mumbled apology. Wufei followed
him, clutching his hand and smiling.

Wufei took his computer out of his pocket and settled on a cherry picker platform, Zechs
maneuvered the bucket to the first joint at the neck of the Leo. He poked a hand into the joint
and grumbled. "Loose. Sloppy. Needs replacing. Do we have a replacement? Hell no. Can we
order one? Of course not."

Wufei bit his lip to keep from laughing. "No, we don't have replacement parts for most of the
things we need. What we do have is Duo Maxwell. He can make the most amazing things. And
if he can't make it Heero can. Especially if it's electronic. He can make a radio out of . . . well.
Things that scare me. And Duo. . . you don't say you can't to him. Makes him crazy. He'll prove
you wrong or die trying. At least he used to. Heero'll have something to say about some of his
more dangerous activities. . . I hope."

Zechs raised an eye brow, knowing that Wufei would see it. "So Maxwell can make almost
anything? Can he make all the servos, all the command boards and reprogram that obsolete piece
of shit that this thing calls a main computer? " Zechs stuck his hand into the shoulder joint. "And
if that mother board isn't completely fried, I miss my guess. Again, loose, sloppy loose. Worn
out and useless. This is . . . "

"Don't say it. " Zechs nearly fell off the cherry picker. "I'll only prove you a liar. Not that I'm
callin'ya a liar, you understand. Just a figure of speech. Here." Duo swung down from his
position, hanging from the head of the Leo by his heels. He handed Zechs a servo. "Take that
down with you. And be careful, that's the only one that's in good shape. I'll use it for a pattern
for the others. I'll take them all apart and see if I can't salvage enough good parts to rebuild
some, then I'll just make the rest. And we'll have to do it assembly line, or we won't get done
before the old guy croaks. So." Duo dropped from the bucket to the knee joint, then to the foot.
He slid down the foot to the floor and headed off into the blackness of the warehouse's interior.

Zechs turned to look at Wufei and when he couldn't find him, swivelled his head around looking
for the 'dratted kid'

He found him and nearly had a fit, against his better judgement Wufei was sticking his hand into
the hip joint of the Leo. But in order to do that he was hanging from his knees which were
hooked over the waistband. If he fell he wouldn't have time to flip before he cracked his skull on
the concrete below. Zechs took simple steps to prevent that.

He reached out, grabbed Wufei by the back of his coverall and pulled. Wufei yelped, tumbled
into Zechs's arms and found out that when the one time prince lost his temper it could turn out to
be painful. Zechs gave him one sharp swat on the seat of his pants, then swore, dumped him on
his feet and turned away with a scarlet face.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. You scared me. I don't react well when people I . .
. like . . . scare me. I usually get angry. I'm sorry."

Wufei rubbed his stinging gluteus maximus and shook his head at a staring Duo. "That's ok. I
tend to do the same thing. Make a note. . . the next time you do that, you better tie me up first."
Wufei didn't see Duo's face or he'd have realized that that was not the smartest thing he'd ever
said.

Zechs whirled to stare at Wufei, then schooled his face into severe lines and nodded. "I'll
remember that. We better get back to work before Duo chastises us both for fooling around."

~ * ~

Heero picked up one of the lists of things that Duo wanted. They were all electronic parts, so he
called out that he was going to the electronics warehouse situated on the other side of the
grounds. Duo had already made arrangements for that facility to handle their needs.

Heero jogged across the tarmac surrounding the warehouse, looking around in appreciation of
what he saw. The grounds were policed carefully, not so much as a gum wrapper on the ground.
The grass was clipped, the flower beds trimmed. All the buildings were in excellent repair. All in
all exactly what he would have expected from WEI. He was happy, the sun was shining and he
had a 'mission.'

When he got to the proper building, he opened the door and entered, the cool interior welcome
after his jog in the sun. He went to the desk and handed the clerk the paper.

"Damn, you want a lot of stuff. You walked over so I'll have to drive you back. You're not
carrying all this stuff. Too bulky." She smiled at him, then headed into the back of the facility to
start picking his parts. "You might as well come along. This is an impressive list. You can help
me." Heero followed her into the back flipping up the gate built into the counter and pushing
open the swinging lower part.

Heero sighed, the warehouse was huge, with floor to ceiling racks of electronic parts of every
description. He was sure that, if something existed, it was here somewhere. The only problem
would be finding what was wanted.

"Here, here's a map of the unit. Parts are sorted by type. Transistors, resistors, memory modules,
hard drives, etc. Just check the map, find the area then everything is in numerical order more or
less. If you can't find something just leave it. I'll find it myself. Ok?" Heero gave a jerky nod.
"Let's get busy." The woman walked away with a waive of her hand. Heero took the next cart in
the line and followed her into the bowels of the warehousing.

It didn't take him long to get the hang of the system and he spent the next hour picking parts and
grumbling. There were so many different electronic parts in a mobile suit, even a Leo, that he
felt like he was going to have at least one of everything in the building before he was done. And
this was just the common parts. They would still have to find specialized parts.

Finally done he returned the cart to the main desk just in time to walk in on something.

"James Donald Frazer. How many times have I told you not to come here alone? You're in big
trouble young man. You'll be punished. Shame on you."

Heero blinked slowly, his heart starting to hammer.

The young voice that replied was a bit tearful but still defiant. "I'm not a baby, I can walk across
the grass without someone holding my hand. Besides I wanted to see the Gundam pilot. He's
here. Daddy told me so."

"And where is your father, if I might ask?"

Heero stepped into the small office to see a boy about nine standing in front of the desk, red-
faced and unhappy.

"I don't know. He was going out into the garden last time I saw him. I left a note."

The boy turned and ran right into Heero. Heero grabbed him and steadied him before he fell flat
on his backside.

"Easy, you'll hurt yourself."

That was the final straw for the harried young mother. "Well, that just caps the climax. You're
just impossible sometimes. You're really going to get it now."

Heero felt slightly faint, the sight of the woman sitting behind the desk brought back memories
that he'd rather not have.

"It's my fault. I should have gotten out of his way. If you have to punish someone punish me.
I'm tough. I can take it. Please?"

Some intuition told the woman that something about this was much more important than it
would seem on the surface.

"Well . . . but if you're to take his punishment, he has to stay to see it."

Heero gave a jerky nod. At her hand motion he followed her into a large mostly empty room.

All it contained were several chairs set in front of a vid system, a small table and a tiny
kitchenette. Mrs. Frazer motioned Heero and James to follow her further into the room.

Heero tried to keep his body between the woman and boy as much as he could, but the kid didn't
cooperate. Instead he tugged on his mother's arm and whined. "I'm sorry, Mom. Please don't
make me. I won't do it again. Please? Ok? Please?"

But she was adamant. "Nope. You're not getting out of punishment this time. You've disobeyed
me once too often. You forget way too easily. This time it's a full punishment, no skips, no
whining me out of it. And an additional punishment for every time you move. You got me?"

The boy hung his head. "Yes ma'am." Then he brightened "but you said 'he' was going to get
punished?"

"Yes, for standing in your way and knocking you down. But you're still getting it for 'crossing
the grass' which, by the way," she turned to Heero. "includes crossing two major highways and
almost half a mile of the airport grounds."

She thumped a chair down in a corner, then pointed to another. "Sit. Thirty minutes. No getting
up. Five minutes extra for every time you're up and wandering around. If you got to go, ask.
Now, like I said. SIT!"

Heero nearly fell onto the chair. James fetched the indicated chair and sullenly flopped into it,
crossing his arms over his chest and slouching into a full pout.

"Just you remember, young man. Attitude will make or break you. And I've got my eye on the
both of you."

Heero planted both feet flat on the floor and sat ram rod straight, thinking furiously.

"Are we allowed to talk?"

"I guess. She'll let us know if we can't. Stupid Mom. I'm old enough to do things. You know. I
bet you didn't get stuck in some dumb ol' chair when you were my age."

Heero turned to look at the kid. "No, I didn't get stuck in some chair. My punishments would
have killed you. Be glad your Mom loves you enough to worry about you."

"Your Mom must have been a real terror. What'd she do?"

Heero sighed and squirmed. "I don't remember my mother. Just J and . . ." he stopped suddenly,
knowing that none of the things he'd been about to say were fit for the child's ears. "Never mind
just . . . why did you want to see a Gundam pilot?"

The boy gave Heero a look that Duo used often. Heero had catalogued it as 'where's your head'.
Then he rolled his eyes.

"Cause. If it hadn't been for them, we'd be living on L2 in some dump. But we got sent here,
instead. 'Cause with the allied gone we got freedoms to go where we wanna and be safe and
stuff. Don't you know anything?"

Heero shrugged. "All I know is that I'm glad you got freedoms and stuff. My name's Heero Yuy.
Winner. But that's another story."

The kid got a deer in the headlights look and started to jump out of his chair. Heero stopped him
with a steely grip on one wrist. "Your mother said sit. So you sit."

James gulped. "Yes, sir. I . . . wow . . . you're really Heero Yuy? And you're letting my mom
make you sit in a chair. That's just . . . fucked up."

Heero turned a cold look on James who paled and gulped. "If I'd spoken like that when I was
your age, I'd have been gagged for at least a week. Except for eating."

James nodded, suddenly remembering things he wasn't supposed to have watched. "I saw . . . a
little. I was supposed to be in bed, but I had to pee. I think that guy must have been nuts. But. . .
sometimes bad things happen to good people. My mom says that it's what we learn from it that
counts and that bad people get what's coming to them sooner or later."

Heero nodded. "Yeah and this time it was my job to see that it did. We better be quiet. I think
your mom is getting pissed. She's doing an awful lot of shifting."

"You can hear her flouncing from here?" another big-eyed look followed this remark.

Heero shrugged. "Yeah. Hush."

"Ok."

They sat for the next twenty five minutes in silence and James didn't squirm that much.

When they were allowed up, Mrs. Frazer smiled at Heero. "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?
You just looked like . . . oh, my. Mr. Yuy."

Heero swiped at his suddenly watering eyes and fled the building at a dead run, completely
forgetting about the parts. Luckily, Mrs. Frazer had already had them delivered.

He headed straight for Duo.

Duo met him in the door and wrapped his arms around Heero, crooning comfortingly before he
even knew what was going on.

Zechs and Wufei joined them only a few moments later.

"Heero! Tell me what's wrong."

Heero snuggled into the combined embrace of his three friends. "She punished him. It was . . ."

Zechs interrupted. "Heero who punished who and why did it upset you. You have to tell us all of
it. Not just bits." Zechs pulled his phone from his pocked and surreptitiously dialed Dr. Terry.

Heero managed to pull himself together enough to tell them the story, ending, "And she just
made him sit in a chair. I was so scared. I couldn't have let her hurt him but I . . . interfering
between a parent and child . . . that's not good either. It was so strange. She made him sit in a
chair. And it was . . . punishment?"

Duo looked over Heero's head at Zechs, who shrugged slightly. "I never had to sit in a chair. I
was usually caned. Or made to write lines."

Wufei nodded. "I always had to write lines. My people didn't believe in striking a child no
matter what. But my Father could strip the skin off you with a look. And when he decided to
lecture me it . . . hurt."

Duo sighed. "Father Maxwell could reduce me to tears with a well-rehearsed sigh. And Sister
Helen would only say 'Oh, Duo' in that tone of voice and my heart was broken."

Heero gulped then shuddered.

Duo hugged him harder "Heero, I seriously don't want to know. Just know this. J was a complete
nut job. The way he treated you was against more laws than I can count, and several prisoner of
war conventions as well." Duo took a deep breath. "I better not get started or I'll go off on a rant
that will rival Wufei at his . . . best"

Wufei took a deep breath himself. "Maxwell, I do not rant. That's an injustice. And you're just
trying to start something. You're not going to get away with it. I have enough self-control not to
let you get me started. Hey!" Wufei swatted at Duo, who'd pulled the elastic off his pony tail.
"Come back here. Duo Maxwell, you pickpocket. Heero, if you don't make him stop, you're
going to be missing a boyfriend."

Duo took off running, with Wufei right behind him. Heero grumbled, "I better keep them from
killing each other." and ran after them. Zechs rubbed his forehead and followed Heero to keep it
from degenerating into an all out brawl between the three friends. "And we lost the war to them.
Oh, god. What are they going to be like in another few years?"

~ * ~

Dr. Terry showed up about twenty minutes later and took Heero off into one of the small offices
built on two levels in one corner of the warehouse.

"Heero. Can you explain exactly what happened? This is one of those times when I have to ask
you how you feel. And I expect an answer."

Heero had managed, with Duo's help and Wufei's distraction, to get himself under control again.
So he told the doctor what had happened. He took his time and went into detail.

"And how did you feel when you knew that Mrs. . . . Frazier was going to punish the boy?"

Heero thought carefully this was not the time to be flip with his answers. "I felt sick."

"I see. And your first impulse?"

"Grab the kid and run. But I knew that I couldn't do that. Where would we go? I can hide
myself, but not some kid."

Dr. Terry nodded, made a note then smiled gently at Heero. "So you decided to take his
punishment instead?"

"Yeah, I'm . . . used to it. I was trained to withstand torture. So . . . " Heero thought carefully
"they tortured me as punishment . . . so I'd get used to it."

"There's more, isn't there. You need to confront this or it'll eat you alive. You want to learn
about your emotions?" Heero gave a jerky nod. "Then learn. But you have to recognize your
feelings."

"Yeah, I know. But it's so hard." Heero shuddered. "All I can think is. I was just a kid. Granted
I'd been trained by Oden Low but . . . I was just a kid. How could they do that to a kid? It's not
right, no matter what their goals. It wasn't right . . . what they did. If I'd been a grown up,
they'd never have gotten hold of me. And . . . and . . ." Heero looked at Dr. Terry with haunted
eyes. "What if there were more kids than just me. What if . . . what if I'm the only one who
survived it. What if they'd gotten hold of Duo, or Wufei . . . Or, god forbid, Quatre. Even Trowa
had it better than I did. I just can't help but think sometimes, what if things had been different, if
I'd had a family and . . . things. Would I have been able to do what I did? Would I have done
better . . . worse? Damnit. I just get so mad sometimes that I can't think at all. I just want to hit
something or . . ." Heero shuddered again. "I need to stop now. Please."

Dr. Terry knew when it was time to back off and this was it. "Why don't I go get your friends
and we just chill for a while? If you have anything you want to say, just say it. No pressure. I
think we've done all we can for now. You need to think about what you feel and . . . sort of, get
into it? You know what I mean?" Heero nodded and then gave the doctor a rather tremulous
smile. "What?"

"I cried." Heero waited for what Dr. Terry would say.

Dr. Terry just slipped his arms around Heero and hugged him gently. "That's good. You feel
better after?"

"I think so. Duo and Wufei started a quarrel and Zechs went along with it . . . they hugged me."
Heero sighed and pushed away gently. "I think I liked it. I'm so used to touching being painful
that I always tense up. Then they get embarrassed. Then I get embarrassed . . . turns into a real
mess. But this was good. Thanks."

When Dr. Terry motioned from the door of the office, all the others hurried in to see how Heero
was doing. Duo went to him immediately, while Wufei and Zechs hung back to talk to the
doctor. After finding out that Dr. Terry felt that this was a significant break through, but also
shouldn't be pushed, they gathered around Heero in a gently rocking group hug that left Dr.
Terry grinning as he left the room.

Zechs hugged Wufei who hugged both Heero and Duo, he felt sad that this had happened, but he
knew that Heero had had an amazing break through. Now they had to distract him before he
started to brood. That would only slow him down.

"Well, if we're done with the group cuddle, could we get back to work? There's a lot to be done
and we don't have much time."

Heero grinned at Zechs over Duo's head. "Yes, we're done." Heero disengaged himself from
Duo's arms. Duo whined 'donnwanna.' "Stop whining Duo. We need to get this done. Come on.
I'm good. Better."

Duo sighed and followed Heero, but not before giving Zechs a slight scowl of discontent. He'd
been enjoying hugging, but he knew that they had to get back to work.

They went out into the main warehouse just in time to hear someone declare. "I don't give a
damn. I'm supposed to have a Duo Maxwell sign for this and that's what I'm going to do. So if
you want this equipment, get him here pronto. I ain't got all day ya know."

Duo hurried over to the open roll up door and held out his hand. "I'm Maxwell."

The delivery man gave him one look and snatched the pad away. He actually held it over his
head. "No. Nope. Not a chance. Look kid, I like a joke as well as the next guy. But if I deliver
this stuff without a proper signature, it's more than my jobs worth. I got kids your age. So I need
Maxwell or I'm out of here."

Duo snarled, reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He yanked his id out of it and
handed it to the man. "I'm not going to get into a fight with you. Compare the signatures." Duo
reached out and snatched the pad, which the man had lowered. He signed on the line and handed
the thing back. "There. Now, I can have it unloaded in five minutes, or I can let you struggle for
thirty, what's it going to be?"

The man grumpily compared the signatures and thumb prints by stuffing the id card into a slot
on the machine and shifting uneasily as the machine grumbled and beeped. It ejected the card,
whirred, then beeped again. The screen turned green and the man eyed it like it was broken or
something.

"Well, come on. We help or you do it alone." Duo had already lost what patience he had. And he
wasn't taking any guff from anyone. Heero walked up behind him and soothed him, gently
patting him on the shoulder.

The delivery man sneered, "You two want to turn the fire down to a slow simmer?"

Heero raised his head slowly from where he'd been about to whisper in Duo's ear. Duo just
blinked lazily and let Shinigami peek out. Heero's cold glare left nothing to the imagination.

Duo just shrugged. "We'll be over here. Making out. You unload that stuff and put it here." Duo
indicated a good staging area for the equipment and walked off pulling Heero with him.

Zechs just crossed his arms and watched the man as he stared after them.

"Who the hell does that kid think he is. I'm old enough to be his father and he disrespects me
like that. I'd like to turn him over my knee."

Zechs eyed the man for a second. "I wouldn't advise it. If Heero doesn't break you into little
pieces, I will. And that's after Duo gets done. Better get to work if you want to be done today . . .
. Oh, and be glad that I didn't decide to take a hand. I assure you that you wouldn't have
escaped with your skin intact." Zechs turned on his heel and strode after his friends, braid
slapping against his ass. Wufei stared after him with a slight smile.

~ * ~

When the driver was finally through unloading the truck, Duo finished with his inventory check
and turned to him.

"I hope there's still at least three boxes on that truck. There's supposed to be a desk top
computer in there and . . ." Duo consulted his pad. "A box of memory chips . . . and. "Duo paged
through the invoice. "A mother board . . . type 3-Leo serial number x-2874639. Better find that
stuff quick. Possession of the mother board is a felony, unless you have a license. Which can
only be issued to a government agency, a security company, or a construction company. The
chips are worth . . . five hundred credits each and the desk top is dedicated to Leo diagnostics
programs only."

The driver looked indignant and snarled. "You little fuck. I don't steal. I got a good job and I'm
not about to risk it for a bunch of shit I don't know anything about. You got missing inventory,
go talk to dispatch. I'll wait."

Duo eyed the man for a moment then shrugged. "Ok, I'll just do that." He ignored the muttered
'little shit' and took his phone out of his pocket.

After talking to the dispatcher Duo turned to the man and sighed. "Ok, where else did you stop
before you got here?"

"I didn't stop anywhere . . . I . . ." the driver trailed off. "I stopped at home for a second. My wife
wanted milk."

Duo yelled at Heero, "Hey. 'Ro. Come here a sec." Then he turned back to the driver. "Look . . .
Mac. What the hell is your name?"

"George."

Heero walked up and eyed George. "What's up?"

"Missing inventory."

"Where'd you stop?" Heero turned a cold, calculating look on the man. He gulped and
stammered, Heero replied. "I. . . I . . . I . . . is not an answer."

George rubbed at his forehead. "I stopped at the local mini mart, got a gallon of milk and took it
home. I wasn't in the store for more than five minutes. I didn't even go in the house. I honked
and my son came out to get it. There's no way anyone could have gotten anything out of that
truck. The seal wasn't broken."

Duo snorted, "I could crack a truck like that by the time I was eight. Heero could do it too." Duo
turned to Heero. "Quatre is the only one that might not be able to open that tin can, you think?"

Heero gave Duo a slight smirk. "He could do it. I taught him. That's one of the reasons he's
revamping all the delivery trucks. So . . . I'll go to the mini-mart. You see what you can find on
the net."

Duo snorted again. "Not a chance. I'm going with you. You'll scare them all into incoherency
and we'll never find out anything. Come on."

Heero told the driver to stay right there until they figured out what was going on. Zechs was
drawn into the investigation, Duo asked him to get in touch with the dispatcher and tell him what
was going on. Wufei grumbled, but subsided when Duo just frowned at him and set him to
searching the net

Heero looked at Zechs, "After you talk to the dispatcher, call me. You're coordinator, Ok?"
Zechs nodded. "Duo and I will go to the market and talk to the clerk and anyone else we can
think of. I'll call you with all the information we get. After that we'll drive the route and see if
there's any place that he could have been ambushed. Any suggestions?"

Zechs thought for a moment, then shook his head. Wufei asked if there were any places where
there was a chance of being held up for a long time. George stammered. He couldn't help it.
These boys had gone from a bunch of fresh faced kids to grim faced, and very scary, solders in
the blink of an eye.

Heero and Duo left, with Duo grumbling at the choice of cars. He'd finally gotten a drivers
license, but not the much coveted sports car. So he had the choice of a well-worn pickup or a
jeep.

~ * ~

Duo drove because he announced that he didn't care if Heero had a license or not, he couldn't
drive worth a damn. Heero scowled back at him and declared that Duo drove like he was the
only one on the road. They bickered back and forth until they got to the mini mart.

Heero glanced at Duo. They both looked like kids in jeans, T-shirt, and trainers. They didn't
inspire awe or confidence. At least Heero didn't think they did. Duo had other ideas.

"We're going to have trouble. We don't look like anyone who should be asking questions about
who was messing with a truck."

Duo shrugged. "You go chat up the checker. Buy something and complain about that truck being
in the parking lot earlier. Don't glare at her, she'll probably tell you something. She's got to be
bored by now. I'll check around and see if I can't scare up some loiterers, they see things that
they don't know are important. If we don't get anything here, we'll drive the rest of the route.
See if we can't figure out something. Go."

Heero slouched into the market and wandered up and down the rows for a few moments like he
was shopping. He kept an eye on the lady behind the register and saw that she was indeed bored
out of her skull. All he would have to do was make the casual remarks that Duo had suggested
and wait for her to talk his ear off.

Which was exactly what happened.

When he finished making his selections he took everything to the checkout and grumbled, "Man,
I'm about starved. We came by earlier, but there was this big truck right in the middle of the lot
and we couldn't even get in. My buddy didn't want to wait for him to move. Who knows how
long that . . . he's got potty mouth. But any way. We left to check out stuff and just got back."

The clerk brightened happily. She was bored and snatched at the opportunity to talk to someone.

"Yeah, he stopped in about nine this morning, he only stayed about fifteen minutes. He picked
up some milk, a coffee, and a sweet roll. . . oh, and a paper. You should have just honked, he's
real good about moving the truck if he's in the way. He's a great guy . . . but than son of his.
He's another story altogether. Little creep shoplifts out of here like it was his own pantry. We
call, he comes and pays for the stuff. The boss is just about worn out with it. He says the next
time just call the cops and let the chips fall where they may. I'll be glad to. His attitude sucks big
time."

She finished scanning Heero's items and waited while he swiped his bank card, then started
bagging the things up.

"You see that boy around this morning? I bet it's really hard to keep an eye on him while you're
busy."

Heero tried out his sympathetic look, but at the startled expression on the checkers face turned it
into a grimace before he scared her off.

"You ok honey? You didn't look too good there for a second."

Heero shrugged "Hunger pang. I missed supper and this is breakfast."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry you couldn't get in. But to answer your question. He wasn't here this
morning, he's grounded for two weeks. I wish they'd ground him for the rest of his life. Little
smart ass. As if I don't have enough trouble with the grownups, and they've usually got a reason
to be pissy." She finished bagging and handed the food to Heero. "Here you go. And I'll have to
say, I'm glad to see that someone as young as you eats . . . fairly well. Can't eat really well
buying stuff in a convenience store. But fruit and juice is good. Those nutri bars are good for you
but . . . if they could make them taste any worse I think they would. Well, have a nice day."

Heero thanked her and walked out the door with a satisfied smile on his face. He'd actually
managed to pump someone without scaring them half to death. Duo would be so proud of him.

~ * ~

Duo wandered into the back of the lot and settled into a shady spot beside two boys about his age
and flopped down with a groan.

"I'm so hungry. I hope Heero hurries up. He'll want to visit and I'm starving. We came by
earlier but there was this huge freakin' truck right in the middle of the drive. What's up with
that? Deliveries right at the busiest time of day."

One of the boys snickered. "That was George. He's so pussy whipped it's funny."

The other boy shrugged. "You see her? She can whip me any day."

Duo made big eyes. "She's that gorgeous? Wow, but he just parks in the middle of the drive and
lets the truck sit. Isn't that dangerous? What if someone . . . did something?"

Duo rolled his head to look at the guys. They either shrugged or shook a head.

"Naw. No one around here would do much. It's too easy to see. And see? Right there. There's
usually a cop there with a speed gun." The older of the two boys pointed at the corner down the
street.

The other boy had been looking at Duo with a strange expression on his face. "Look, I don't
want to make you mad, but do I know you? You in my math class or something?"

Duo looked at them for a moment, then decided that he was going to get more information if he
was honest with them. They already had an idea who he was, so no damage done.

"No, I'm not in your math class. Or English, or anything else."

Heero walked up just then and handed Duo the bag of breakfast foods. He settled down behind
Duo and reached over his shoulder to help himself to his portion of the contents of the bag.

Both the strange boys looked wide eyed at them as they sat together munching on sweet rolls and
fruit.

Heero sipped at his juice and eyed the boys carefully, they looked like they were about to run, or
faint.

"You guys ok?"

"You're . . . and he's . . . oh, man. Wait til I tell my brother. He'll shit. My mom will go postal.
Can I have your autographs? Please?"

Heero nearly choked on his juice. Duo started laughing, he laughed so hard he had to lie back
and hold his stomach.

"Well, I'm glad I'm funny. Give you a real charge. Sorry I'm so . . ."

Duo sprang up shaking his head. "No! Man, I'm sorry. I don't think you're funny. It's . . . well,
it's a change from having people look at us like we're about to whip out a gun and shoot
everyone in sight, or treat us like we're poor abused little boys who need a mommy. Just . . .
sorry. Here, what do you want me to autograph?"

The boy looked around. "Here, how about this. You could both sign it and I can get it framed."

The kid handed Duo a magazine center fold of all the Gundams. Duo signed and handed it to
Heero to sign.

"So . . . tell us about the truck."

So the boys told Duo and Heero the same story that the clerk had told with some additions.

"But that son of Georges' is a real creep. He's a bully and a thief. He got suspended for three
days for stealing stuff from the chem. lab and from the shop. He made some sort of pliers thing
but they didn't catch him at that. He's just fucked. He thinks he's the next godfather or
something."

Duo made a face, Heero just went 'hn' and started thinking.

Duo continued to blatantly pump the two boys, who were delighted to not only help a couple of
real Gundam pilots, but get someone they disliked in trouble.

"So . . . we better get on the road." Duo stood up brushing off the seat of his pants. "Thanks,
guys. Oh, if you think of anything else. Call this number, ask for Zechs and tell him who you are.
He'll take the information." Duo gave them both a sharp look. "And don't call just to prove you
can. Ok? We don't have the time for ego boosting."

Heero stood, gathering up the wrappers and bottles as he did so. He stuffed all the trash into the
sack and looked for a trash can. One of the boys offered to take care of it for him, so he just
handed it over with a soft thanks.

As they walked away Heero's sharp ears over heard, "Wow, they act just like everybody else.
Great and look . . . they both autographed it. This is great."

"Yeah. And . . . wow . . . just . . . wow. They're just like us. Look at that jeep they're driving. It's
crap . . . ."

Heero settled into the jeep and wished he could have walked just a little slower. Maybe he could
have heard something worth hearing. Then he thought that what he had heard was well worth
hearing. He turned to Duo and told him what he'd done and what he'd heard.

Duo was delighted that he'd managed to pump the clerk and also that two 'normal' boys thought
that they were like them.

"We're getting somewhere. I'm not sure where. But, hey, we're reaching the much vaunted
'functional'"

Heero grunted. 'Ya think?' then settled in to carefully scan the area, as Duo drove the route the
driver had covered on the way to the warehouse.

"What I'd like to know is how some newbie got around the seal. You have to have a
sophisticated cutter to get it off without defacing the seal number . . . " Duo swore softly. "Fuck,
Heero call Zechs and have him check to see if the seal number matches the invoice number. We
worried about stuff like that but civilians might not."

Heero dug out his phone and made the call. He waited while Zechs checked the seal from the
truck door and the invoice. He came back and told Heero that there wasn't a number on the seal,
just a dent where the number should be.

"Ok, we got something there. I'm not sure what but something . . . Heero? " Heero turned his
head to look at Duo. "Who would want that stuff any way? It's useless to anyone but us. So . . .
what gives?"

Heero thought. "If the boxes were marked 'mother board', and 'memory modules'. Someone
who knew about computers might want them, not knowing that they are dedicated. And that
computer looks like a regular desk top. Diagnostic computers don't look different from regular
ones. And it's cheaper to make them from standard parts. It's all in the programming, you know.
And it makes it easier to upgrade the programs if you don't have to make a bunch of nonstandard
disks. Someone who knew about the contents of the truck did it."

Duo sighed "That son is looking better and better. He's crooked, smart and not street wise. We
need to figure out how he did it . . . .un . . . Heero? What's grounded got to do with a person?"

"Don't know. From the way he was talking, it doesn't have anything to do with electricity. Two
weeks. Some sort of punishment? But . . . I'm calling Dr. Terry, he'll know. And he won't laugh
because we don't."

So Heero called Dr. Terry and snickered when the doctor asked who was trying to ground them.
When Heero told him what was going on, Dr. Terry congratulated Heero on his successful
pumping and told him to call again if he had any more questions.

"Well, what's grounding. And does it hurt? Doubt it, if it's considered a safe punishment."

"It's juvenile house arrest. He can't go out except to school and can't have any friends in. But
that doesn't mean that he's not in contact with someone. We need to look into this for sure."

Duo thought for a block then snarled. "I bet I got it pegged. He made a seal clamp with a blank
or defaced number area." Heero nodded, remembering the remark about 'some pliers thing.'
"Wouldn't have worked for us, but there you are. Civilians and military are different enough that
it should work. He's got an outside contact that did the grunt work. He's the mastermind.
Wonder how many times he's gotten away with this."

Heero grunted, "No idea. But not many or someone else would be on this case already. Stop a
minute."

Duo pulled over and waited while Heero got out, looked around, then just stood for a moment.

"This isn't the way he went. Truck's too tall to go under that overpass."

Duo pulled out his laptop and opened it. He punched in a request for the map he'd been sent.

"Nope, couldn't be. There's two overpasses that are too short. It's the shortest route, so that's the
one they assigned him. This system is shit. Let me . . . ok. He went home, then to the
warehouse."

Duo typed for a moment then shut down the laser keyboard and waited for the unit to process.
When it was done Heero looked over Duo's shoulder, taking the opportunity to kiss Duo on the
neck.

"Hold that thought. And lookie here. He went home, then he went to our warehouse. So he had to
go this way." Duo tapped the little spyglass sign until the map expanded to the extent the
monitor would allow. He traced the path with a finger and snorted. "One, he went roundabout.
Two, look here. He went through this tunnel and there's a railroad crossing just here. Wonder. .
." Duo called Zechs to see if he could find out if a train went through that crossing on any set
schedule.

When they found out that one had, Duo looked at Heero. "We're going to have to do some more
recon. You know that don't you?"

Heero put his arm over the back of the drivers' seat and around Duo's shoulders. He smirked at
Duo and told him he was looking forward to it. Duo didn't think he was talking about just recon.

They drove over the entire route with frequent calls to Zechs to check in, the last call was
interesting. Wufei had finally found something on the net. There was an offer on one of the
electronics sales boards of almost exactly what was stolen. Although the descriptions were
different, the pictures were plainly their missing items.

Wufei told Duo that he'd put a hold on the merchandise, contacting the moderators and telling
them that the stuff was stolen. That had caused a flap on their end with a flurry of mails back and
forth. When the delivery company got involved, they put a freeze on any sale until the
merchandise could be inspected. Whoever was trying to sell it now knew that it was hotter than
hot. They were also aware that the theft had been discovered and they were well on their way to
being found.

Heero snarled along with Wufei. "I had hoped to keep it under wraps for a little while longer.
Now we really have to hurry, or they may decide to get rid of the stuff. I'm so gonna smack him
if it turns out to be that kid."

Duo shrugged. "This time we call the law. It's on our side for once. In fact, we really should
have a cop with us right now. What do you think?"

Heero shrugged. "Want to call now? Or wait until we have something solid to show."

"Don't know." Duo shrugged. "Call Zechs and see what he thinks. He's used to being on the
right side of the law. He's liable to be a little more objective."

~ * ~

Zechs hung up the phone and turned to Wufei. "The officer wants to interview George. He's on
his way over here now. What have you found out from the auction house?"

Wufei sighed and rubbed his forehead. Well, it's no ebay. But it's not entirely fly by night. They
don't want anything to do with it, now that the merchandise is suspect, but they've blown our
cover. The minute they were sure that it was hot, they froze the account and demanded right of
inspection. We're fucked."

Zechs swore and kicked a stool into the darkness of the warehouse. "Ok. When that cop gets
here, hand George to him and wait for instructions."

Wufei just nodded and went back to his computer to see what else he could accomplish.

With a little thought, he managed to cover the fact that the auction had frozen the account and
talk the server into allowing him to try to trace the incoming messages. He wished for Heero, but
got it done himself. Much to Zechs's amazement.

"Well, that's a relief. If you covered up well enough, we could have enough lee way to catch the
thief. You did quite well. I don't know why you're always saying Heero does it better. You're
very good."

"Heero's better. And so is Duo. Either one of them would have done the job in half the time."

Zechs made a sharp sweeping motion with one arm. "Will you quit that? You're quite a scholar,
very smart. And a little too self effacing. Please take a compliment."

Wufei blushed with happiness. "Well then, I will. Thank you for the compliment, kind sir."

Zechs smiled "Noblesse oblige."

Wufei made a face. "The obligation of the lord. Please spare me."

"Something?"

"I am the Sun of the Dragon Clan"

"I understand what it is to be the last son of a family."

Wufei sighed and let his shoulders slump. "I'm so tired . . ." he put his face in his hands and
rubbed it.

Zechs settled into a nearby broken-down easy chair. He gently pulled Wufei into his lap. "Ok
Wenlong. Explain yourself."

Wufei stiffened at first, but relaxed as Zechs gently rubbed his back in small comforting circles.

"I'm the S-u-n of the Dragon clan. Not s-o-n" Wufei spelled the words. "I'm the last hope of my
clan. Believe it or not, I'm the eldest of the eldest. The title has little to do with age, and a great
deal to do with family ties and blood lines. So, while I'm completely incapable of taking over the
reins of power, I'm being pressured to do so. I've turned them down time and time again. How
they can expect me to run a clan, I don't know. And I don't care. I won't do it, but I still feel
guilty and . . . I'm just tired of it all. I want to be left alone to lead my own life. But the other
elders are trying to pressure me into marrying and bearing a new heir to the Clan."

Zechs kept rubbing Wufei's back and started planning. This was not good. Wufei wasn't up to
running a clan, no matter what the other elders might think. And they could very well force
Wufei into ruining his life entirely. All they had to do was 'play the honor card' and they might
just manage it. To the detriment of the clan as well as Wufei.

"And how do they intend to get an heir out of you. Gay here. Or don't they care."

"They don't care, they keep talking about honor and duty and obligation. But . . . DAMNIT. I
already gave them all I am, all I could have been. And they want more? They can just go . . . "

"Piss up a rope." Zechs held Wufei tightly before he could jump up and run. "Now. Think.
You've told them that you won't do what they want. So, how do we convince them. And what
did you want. How do you get it?"

Wufei settled against Zechs and sighed. "I want what Duo has. What Quatre has. And I want to
go back to school. Not that high school crap. I've got at least three degrees. All I have to do is
write my thesis. That's what I want to do. Write my theses. Get my degrees and . . . do
something besides regret."

"We'll see what we can do then." Zechs looked at Wufei's computer, which was still setting on
the scared table. "I think you're wanted. Something is blinking."

Wufei went to the table and settled at the computer again. He started tracking Duo's GPS signal
just to be doing something useful, instead of worrying. He didn't like having Heero out of his
sight, it wasn't anything to do with the fact that both Zechs and Heero were still technically
prisoners. He just had missed him so much he hated to let him out of his sight.

Zechs put his arm around Wufei's shoulders. "Something wrong?"

"No, just feeling . . . old womanish, I guess. Don't like having Heero out of my sight. But the
only way to keep him and Duo from going out would have been to chain them both to the central
pillar . . . and strip search them both for explosives."

Zechs bit his lip at the image that pronouncement had created in his head and sighed. "Doesn't
sound that bad to me."

Wufei gave Zechs a side ways look from under his lashes. "Yeah, but Duo would just rattle the
chains until Heero . . . " his face turned a dull brick red. "Shutting up now."

Zechs tried, really he did, but he couldn't help it. He started laughing, the merry sound echoed
around the warehouse making some of the men turn their heads to look. He laughed until tears
ran down his face.

When he finally recovered, he looked at Wufei who had also burst out laughing. "I never knew
you had a kink. 'Fei, you should have told me."

Wufei just shrugged. "I told you, I'm very well trained in sexually satisfying my partner. Very
well trained."

Zechs covered his eyes with a groan.

~ * ~

Half an hour later, all the fun was leached out of the day. The detective assigned to the case
wasn't happy. He had taken one look a Wufei and turned an alarming shade of red.

"Excuse me but am I here investigating, or rather, trying to verify, the theft of several thousand .
. . euros worth of computer equipment on the word of a boy? If this is some kind of prank . . ."

Zechs stepped forward. "Officer, I assure you that it's no prank. I'll show you the invoices and
check lists myself." Zechs made a face. "Ah . . . I'm sorry. Colonel Merquise. At your service."

"Sorry. Detective Peterson. And he is . . . "

Wufei rose from his chair. "Chang Wufei. Major. Retired. When you're through checking that
paperwork, I have some things you'll be interested in."

Detective Peterson blinked for a moment, then gulped as his brain processed exactly who he was
dealing with.

"Un. And my boss said you already had someone running down clues? Who, if I might make so
bold as to ask?"

Zechs smirked at his expression. "Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell."

"Oh shit."

"Please." Zechs raised a hand. "Their reputation for blowing things up is sadly over
exaggerated."


Wufei just muttered "deserved" and turned to his computer again.