Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Price They Paid ❯ Duo of All Trades: Part II ( Chapter 25 )

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

The Price 25: Duo of All Trades: Part II

The Price They Paid: Duo of All Trades: Part II

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Betaed by Skippyscatt

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The detective spent an hour going over all the data and invoices. His final decision was that he
was grilling George like a cheese sandwich. After twenty minutes of talking to George, Detective
Peterson was ready to throw the book at him. He'd admitted to stopping at the mini mart for at
least twenty minutes then having to circle around because the overpasses were too low. Then
he'd gone home with the milk because he was afraid it would sour.

"So he honked, but when his son didn't come out he went in. When he got back to the truck, his
son was in it looking through the invoices. That boy has a bad reputation. And he's expelled right
now. And grounded but that doesn't mean much. George says that his wife doesn't see the sense
in keeping the boy off line. By the way his name is Anthony. Only George says it's Junior. And I
don't like any of this."

The detective gave a snort as he finished his rundown.

Wufei gritted his teeth and looked at Zechs. "So now what?"

Zechs picked at his lower lip as he thought. "Well, first we get in touch with Duo and see what he
and Heero think. Then we make a plan. Which should include grilling young Junior like a cheap
steak. What do you think?"

Wufei made a face. "I think the boy has absolutely no honor at all. To put his father in such a
position. George isn't a bad man. Just foolish. In love with his wife and trusting his son. At the
very least he's going to lose his job. And he might face charges. We need to . . . No, send Heero
to speak to him. Heero will scare the piss out of him and get answers. You can bet on it."

Zechs snickered which brought Detective Peterson's attention back to him.

"Something funny? I could use a laugh."

Zechs twinkled at the man. His blue eyes lighting up his whole face, Wufei stared. "Picture
Heero Yuy interrogating a normal fifteen year old. With Duo Maxwell backing him up."

Peterson blinked for a moment, then he smiled. "Oh, fuck! I like it."

~ * ~

Duo listened to Zechs for a second, then demanded to talk to the detective. After speaking to him
Duo thought for a few moments.

"Heero, do you . . . I think . . . oh, man"

Heero smirked. "The detective wants me to interrogate the boy."

Duo nodded. "Yeah. You heard?"

Heero shrugged. "He talks loud."

After they had driven for a few moments, Duo took a quick peek at Heero. "You gonna?"

"Keep your eyes on the road. Yeah, I am."

"Good cop, bad cop?"

Heero shook his head. "No, bad cop, fucked up cop."

Duo thought about that one for a while. "But the detective thought that you would be the one . . .
oh, you so did not . . ."

Heero looked out the windshield. "I'm not the one with the really crazy laugh."

"Shit you're not." Duo's indignant reply made Heero snicker.

"You've never heard yourself."

"Yah? But I've heard you."

"Sanity thy name is not Gundam pilot."

Duo just shook his head.

~ * ~

When they reached George's house, they were met by a tall heavy set man who introduced
himself as Detective Peterson's partner, Senior Detective Anderson. Duo shrank back slightly
against Heero, who just put his arm around Duo's waist.

"Something wrong?" The S.D. let his hand drop.

Duo shuddered then admitted that he was a little nervous around really large men.

"Oh, sorry. Look, I got my own ideas of what is right and wrong. And . . . between us and the
lamp post?"

Duo and Heero both nodded.

"I was resistance. Embedded in the department early in the war. You two got a raw deal all the
way around. So . . . I'll do whatever I need to make you both comfortable. What do I do?"

Heero eyed the man for a moment. "Treat us like . . . veterans of combat. Don't sneak up on us.
Move too quick. Or . . . hover? . . . over us. Understand?"

S.D. Anderson nodded. "Sure do. You got it. Now, on to business at hand. How do you want to
play this?"

Duo bit at his lip while he thought. "Well . . . I figure that . . . what is that little pricks name?
Can't keep thinking of him as 'the little prick' "

The detective consulted his notes. "His name is . . . not too surprising. . . George jr. he's called
Junior. No wonder the kid turned out to be a menace."

Duo looked at Heero who shrugged. "Don't look at me. All I want from the sneak is our parts"

So they went to the door and knocked.

When the door opened Duo blinked, the lady was very pretty and way too young to be the mother
of a fifteen-year-old. 'Step' popped into his head.

Detective Anderson talked to Mrs. George, whose last name had turned out to be Smith. Her first
name was Betty. She admitted that she couldn't do a thing with him, no matter what she tried.
Gorge Sr. undermined her at every turn, telling her 'boys will be boys'. All she wanted was peace
in her house.

When the detective asked if his partners could talk to Junior she just pointed up the stairs and
went into the kitchen, offering to make coffee.

Duo nodded to Det. Anderson and told him to drink coffee with the woman and see what else he
could find out.

Heero and Duo went up the stairs and walked into Juniors room, without knocking.

"Hey! Who the hell are you? And what do you think you're doing?"

This was said to Duo, who'd sat down at the computer and started looking for anything that
would tell them where their parts were.

Heero intercepted Junior before he could try to pull Duo away from the desk.

"Wouldn't do that if I was you. He doesn't like being touched much. Sit."

Heero just tossed Junior back onto the bed he'd been lounging on.

"Fuck you!"

"No thanks. You're too ugly. Where's the stuff?"

Junior tried to look innocent. "What stuff?"

"Heeeeerrroooo! I wanna . . ."

"NO! Sit." Heero turned back to Junior, who was starting to look nervous, Duo's sing song
'Heero' had been really scary. "You better start talking. He's high strung, and I'm not in the
mood to fuck with you. In any way. So, again, where's the stuff."

Duo snorted. "He won't tell. He's too stupid. Can I cut off something?"

Heero gave Junior a glare, then turned to Duo with a soft sigh. "Last time I let you cut something
you cut out the guys tongue. How the hell is a guy supposed to talk without a tongue? Just sit
there and hack."

Duo tittered softly. "But I wanna. Oh, hey. I know. Lets cut off. . . "

Heero interrupted again. "I. Said. No." He turned back to Junior who was now looking really
scared. "You know, I'm supposed to be the crazy one. But Shinigami has come out to play and he
wants to play with you. You wanna?" Juniors eyes widened, he shook his head frantically.
"Didn't think so. Now where's our stuff. Last time I ask. No answer in three seconds and I let
Duo have you. Two. . ."

"OK, ok, ok. I'll tell you. But I gotta know what stuff you mean. I . . . oh, fuck. You're both
Gundam pilots. Fuckfuckfuck. I'm so screwed. I'm dead. My dad will kill me and send me to
juvie. Please don't hurt me. I'm a dead mo. . . "

"Do not say it." Heero particularly hated that phrase. "You tell us who your contacts are. You get
all our components back and we'll see what we can do. But you mess with me and I will let Duo
have you. You'll be cat meat by the time he's done with you." Duos' eerie laugh made Junior
cringe.

By the time Junior was done talking, they knew everything he knew.

He had made a copy of the impression on a seal on his fathers truck, leaving the number area
blank. He'd stolen some seals as well.

He also knew the routes his father had to use because of the low overpasses. He'd looked up the
train schedule after George Sr. had complained about having to sit in a tunnel while he waited for
the train to pass.

Then all he had to do was sneaks a look at the electronic invoice pad to see what he was hauling.
Then he'd alert his cohorts when to strike.

Heero glared at him until he started to snivel. Duo, usually so good natured, just snarled and kept
trying to find out what had happened to the parts.

~ * ~

Mean while, Detective Anderson was having troubles of his own. Betty just didn't understand
how serious this was. And she didn't want to.

"Look, Ma'am. I'm sure you do the best you can. But he's in serious trouble, and so's your
husband. He wasn't supposed to leave his assigned route, except with the permission of the
dispatcher. He should have reported those low overpasses and had his routes adjusted to
compensate. But he was using them as a foil, so that he could come by here and . . . what . . . play
kissy face with you? What ever. He's probably going to loose his job over this. So if you'd just
try to help us out, maybe I could put in a good word for him with his job."

Betty tried crying but the detective was used to that and didn't let up. When she finally broke, she
admitted that she didn't even try to find out what Junior was doing, as long as he left her alone
she was happy. They didn't get along at all. George Sr, as she'd said before, didn't help matters
any either.

"I don't want to take his mother's place, all I want is a place of my own. Is that so bad? But
neither of them listen to me or each other. I love George, I really do, but this is just about too
much. Police in my house. And those two boys aren't normal, they don't look that much older
that Georgie, but if that isn't Heero Yuy I miss my guess. So. Take him away or what ever. Just
don't ask me any questions, because I don't have any idea what he's been up to. And clear out
the garden shed too."

Anderson got a very unhappy feeling in his gut, and his gut was never wrong. So he went out to
the garden shed, opened the door and groaned. It was full of unidentified cans and bottles.

None of them had labels but the smell was unmistakable. This was a lab. He wasn't sure exactly
what was being made, yet.

Anderson called dispatch and was told that the only expert the department had was on a call and
wouldn't be available until the next day. He swore. He had to get this done before George Sr
kicked over the traces. If he did, they would have to go to court and get an order. Evidence could
be lost.

So Senior Detective Anderson went up the stairs in the prime suspect's house and appealed to
two seventeen year old, now anti, terrorists for help.

~ * ~

Duo rubbed the back of his neck and swore, Heero just nodded.

The garden shed was a design that was so old its origins were lost. It was a sheet steel over two-
by-four building about twelve by twelve, with shelves around three sides. It contained one lawn
mower, one garden cart and enough illegal chemicals to blow up approximately eight square
blocks.

"Fuck"

Heero sighed. "Me too."

Duo ran his hand through his bangs and then puffed out his cheeks and blew out his breath,
making a soft Pupp-pupp-pupp sound.

"Anderson, call in . . . never mind I'll call." Duo pulled out his cell and called Mr. Lyons.
"Lyons. Pull out the official voice and call the bio-hazards group. We got a real mess here. Half
the stuff is out dated and unstable. The rest is just dangerous. Get in a disposal unit right now."

Mr. Lyons reply was lost to everyone but Heero, since it was just profanity it didn't make much
difference. Duo gave the address and hung up.

Detective Anderson called his boss and filled him in. When he hung up, he turned to Heero and
told him that the higher up had put Duo in charge, saying that he had the experience to take care
of the hazmat removal. Anderson swore and snapped the phone shut.

"Ok, I don't like this at all. My boss says that you're capable of handling the removal, but . . .
don't be offended . . .you're so young. What experience could you have in handling explosives of
this sort? Some of those chemicals are really old and very volatile."

Duo started to bristle but looked at the man's face and realized that he wasn't getting smart, he
was really worried. So Duo explained that he was the explosives expert with Heero a close
second. Duo thought for a second then allowed that Trowa was as good as Heero. The detective
sighed and got out of the way.

~ * ~

When the truck arrived, so did George Sr. With a lawyer, a company representative and a
Preventer. All in their own cars.

Duo watched with some amusement as Heero directed traffic with a serious expression that
belied the fact that he was sure no one would obey him. Duo knew different.

Then Zechs and Wufei arrived with Detective Peterson, who went to his partner to compare notes
and frowns.

Duo went to the truck and spoke to the disposal experts. Then he rounded up Wufei and Zechs,
gathering Heero, he urged them into the kitchen for a quick talk.

"This kid is in something up to his eyeballs. I'm not sure what. But what would he want with Leo
parts and all those chemicals. They're the kicker. He can make explosives, or drugs. Some of the
designer drugs are really easy to make. If you aren't worried about purity. Zechs?"

Zechs shrugged. "I'd like to talk to him before I make any decisions. But this isn't getting us
back our parts."

Duo sighed. "I know. But this is really big."

Heero shook his head. "Not our responsibility. Getting rid of the chemicals is. But we're not
police, let them take care of their business."

Wufei nodded. "We stay out of it. It's not our job to bust some kid for whatever he's into. All we
need is the parts."

Duo grumbled a little but finally allowed that it really wasn't their business and was better left up
to the experts. They'd done all they could by exposing the mess.

"But I still can't help feeling that we should have known or done or . . . well, shit. I can't explain
it."
Zechs smiled at Duo and decided to just let it go. He could try to explain that the feeling of duty
was something that all warriors felt. The need to protect. But not just now, and perhaps not ever.
It depended on many things, what happened next. Zechs watched as the three boys turned to
present a united front to the two detectives. Who turned out not to be the threat they expected.

~ * ~

The lawyer sputtered objecting to having the chemicals removed from the shed until they were
proven to be dangerous. And he objected to Duo being the overseer. He wanted to see his
credentials.

Duo handed him his drivers license.

"This is a driver's license. What does it prove besides the fact that you're old enough to drive. . .
Mr. Maxwell?"

Duo just smirked at him. "I'd suggest you think about the name then get your client to tell us
where the Leo parts are before I turn this whole mess over to . . ." Duo stopped to think about
who he should turn it over to.

"Lady Une." Zechs blinked as Duo flinched visibly.

"Where? I mean, you think?"

Zechs nodded. "Yes, I do think. And she's in the driveway."

Duo made a choking sound and took off. He ran through the house and out into the back yard,
straight into Heero's arms. Right in front of the hazmat team and two detectives and a Captain of
Preventers.

"Duo, what is it?"

"Une."

"No, she's in . . ."

A voice from behind Heero said. "Right here."

The only thing that kept Duo from running again was Heero's steely grip.

Une walked around them until she could look Heero in the eyes. "I won't apologize for anything,
but I will say that I always respected you. Now . . . we have a situation here. Mr. Maxwell, when
you are through freaking out I need you to supervise the removal and inventory. Mr. Yuy, will
you act as liaison between Mr. Maxwell and the disposal chief. I understand that Chang is here?"

Wufei spoke from behind Lady Une. "Yes, I am here. And I wish you weren't. We have enough
troubles without Duo having a flash back. Please leave now."

Une didn't even blink. "I wanted to take this opportunity to offer you places in Preventers."

Wufei sniffed disdainfully. "Not a chance. I have much better things to do than be your lap dog."

Heero grunted and pulled Duo away before he did freak out completely. He was shaking hard and
needed to get away from the sound of her voice at once.

Zechs touched Lady Une on the arm and shook his head at her. "Let them go. If you really want
them, you'll have to wait. They're not ready yet. Perhaps they never will be. Come, I'll fill you in
on everything I know."

~ * ~

Heero took Duo to the garden shed and got him settled with the chief of the hazmat team, who
took one look at Duo and grinned.

"Hey, Chief Disposal Expert McIntosh. Thanks for finding this mess. We got . . ." The man eyed
the sky. ". . . about five hours before the sun's down. I'd like to get this done in one. Ok?"

Duo nodded. "You know me?"

"Yeah. And you all got a raw deal. So, I'll just pretend I don't know how old you are and we can
get started on this. I understand that you can identify stuff from sight and smell?"

Duo shrugged. "Some stuff. If I can't identify it, we'll just assume it's corrosive. Ok?"

The Chief nodded and handed Duo a writing pad. "You want to do inventory by hand or would
you rather use a secretary/recorder."

Duo grinned, told the man that his hand writing was worse than a doctors and handed the pad to
Heero. The Chief blinked, muttered, "Why would I think they'd be separated now?" and started
putting on a hazmat suit.

It took them almost three hours to remove, catalogue and dispose of all the chemicals in the shed.
In the process Duo figured out what the kid had been doing.

He was making designer drugs and explosives. Duo sighed, the kid was in big trouble and
showed not a particle of remorse.

Heero offered to talk to him again but the lawyer, who'd wandered over to see what his client
had been up to, announced that he wasn't talking to anyone until he was properly booked.

Heero shrugged. He didn't see that booking would hurt the kid much. And maybe it would wake
him up to how serious this was. But he doubted it. He'd already heard the 'I'm a minor, they
can't do anything to me' line.
~ * ~

The chaos surrounding the operation was controlled to some extent. Wufei and Zechs
coordinated with Lady Une and the other Preventer officer to keep things under some control, but
the neighbors wanted information.

And soon reporters showed up. Lady Une growled, she could see her chance at getting any of the
pilots disappearing into the distance.

The pushing, shoving, shouting reporters were soon removed to a safe distance, despite Wufei's
mild but pointed remark that they should be allowed to stay incase anything blew up, as he was
sure that they would want to be the first on site. Zechs stifled a snort and managed to keep a
straight face as he enforced the removal with his presence.

Une managed to get a few moments with Wufei, but got no satisfaction. When she told him that
she wanted him for Preventers, all he would say was that she should have thought of that sooner.
Then he floored her by remarking sourly that he wasn't 'convenient' and wasn't going to be a
'tux monkey' for anyone. Then he strode away to speak to one of the detectives.

Zechs was polite but firm, saying only that no reputable law enforcement body wanted the 'half-
cracked prince' and he refused to talk about Zero at all. His firm statement that he had managed
to work his way through its effects and wasn't about to rake over cold coals stopped her in her
tracks. Especially after she saw his eyes. When he got that look in his eyes she knew that it was
much better to drop a subject rather than be subjected to one of his cutting lectures.

Wufei watched from his place beside the detective. He wondered what Une had said to Zechs to
put that particular look on his face.

Detective Anderson, noticing the direction of his gaze followed it and sighed. "I hope they still
like each other, at least a little bit." Wufei merely raised an eyebrow. "Otherwise, I don't think
the lady is going to come out of that confrontation in one piece. Colonel Merquise is well known
for a temper and some pretty scathing remarks when he gets that look. I think I'll find something
of interest far away."

"That bad?" Wufei wasn't sure if he should worry about Une or cheer Zechs on.

"He can be, and with what's been going on for the last two years. I wouldn't put it past him to be
in a permanently bad mood." Anderson smiled at Wufei. "I know you're one of the pilots. And
don't look at me like that. I couldn't care less. You did your duty when you shouldn't have had a
duty to do. So . . . let's go find some . . . coffee? . . . tea? And leave the master chiller to it, shall
we?"

Wufei gave Zechs one more backward glance, but decided that he was a grown man and could
fight his own battles.

~ * ~

Heero was having all he could do to keep up with Duo. He was smelling and poking at bottles
and tins and snarling at the lawyer, who seemed determined to arouse Shinigami. Heero finally
simply told him to get out of the way or he'd break his leg. The lawyer started to say something
but caught a good look at Heero's glare and decided to go away to call someone. Heero snorted
and went back to recording what Duo was telling him.

As they identified the various fluids, Duo got madder and madder. When they finally got it all
catalogued, he sat next to Heero and snarled. "I've never seen such a mess in all my life. We got
accused of being callous to the safety of the civilians around us but we never put anyone in as
much jeopardy as this little asshole. If that shed had gotten too hot, an eight-block radius would
have been blown to smithereens. Son of a bitch." He blew his bangs off his forehead and went to
consult with the chief of the disposal unit about final disposition.

Neither of them realized that some sound man had a dish microphone pointed at them and had
recorded that whole remark. Not that that was a bad thing.

The last thing they did before they went home was to give the public relations expert a statement
that he could interpret any way he wanted to. He was one of those shiny types that look good in
uniform and speak well, no matter what. The reporters fell on him with glad cries and thrusting
microphones. He held center stage while Zechs, Heero, Wufei and Duo slipped away, leaving a
fuming Lady Une behind.

~ * ~

Back at the warehouse Duo flopped down in the desk chair, "Well, wasn't that a trip and a half.
But what about our parts? We still need them and if the cops impound them as evidence, we're
fucked. I can't make the components in time to do us any good."

Heero snarled, "That little piss pot isn't going to tell anything any time soon. So we find his
cohorts ourselves and take the parts back."

Zechs shrugged. "And how do we find them?"

Wufei smirked, Heero would find them. "Leave that to Heero. We need to start on dismantling
those servos and rewiring things."

Zechs looked at his watch and remarked that it was way too late to start on that now. One of the
crewmen stood just out of threat zone and called to him.

When they all looked over to see what he wanted, he told them that they'd already taken all the
servos apart and were just waiting for further orders. Heero looked at Duo and mouthed, 'we
forgot about them.'

Duo just jumped up and hurried out to look at what the other crew members had accomplished
while they were trying to find the parts. They'd taken all the servos and disassembled them,
putting the parts in groups according to type. They'd also stripped out the wiring in sections
instead of just pulling it out.

Duo examined the table where they'd put the wiring harnesses.

The man shuffled his feet. "I thought that we could just redo the harness by matching lengths and
colors. We don't really have to know where or what. Do we?"

Duo looked over his shoulder at Heero who just shrugged. "Ask Zechs, he knows more about this
than we do." He turned to the man and gave him a smile, relieved when he didn't flinch. "We
never had any help except each other and Howard. But all he would do was provide parts and a
place to work."

Zechs pulled Wufei with him and went to see what was what too.

When Duo asked him if they could get away with what the man was suggesting Zechs nodded.
"If they measure carefully and leave at least a foot of extra wire, we'll be able to do that. It's a
good idea and one we used a lot. You don't have to know much about Gundams or Leos or what
ever in order to measure and cut wire. We could also have them work on the cockpit."

Wufei nodded. "Yes, anything that isn't specialized, we can have the regular mechanics take care
of. But I wouldn't like to see them do any of the specialized work. They should leave it up to us.
They might get badly hurt if they mess with the installation of the servos or work on the joints.
Especially as bad as they are. It's just too dangerous."

Zechs made a face. "If . . ." he took a deep breath. "If it was during the war, I would order that
thing decommissioned . . . with explosives if necessary. It's a death trap. But the old guy is going
anyway so . . . we fix it."

Heero nodded and put an arm around Duo as he gave a huge yawn and mumbled. 'Sorry.'

Wufei looked at his watch and grumbled, it was late in the afternoon, they'd missed lunch and
had a harrying experience. He remarked that there was no reason that they couldn't take off the
rest of the day, get some food and come back in the morning to start searching for the parts again.

Heero smirked and replied that his search of the messages on young Junior's computer should be
done in about two hours. He could get the results at home. He poked Wufei and offered sushi.

Wufei brightened, Zechs grumbled and Duo just headed for home.

~ * ~

They ate the sushi that Zechs ordered in, sitting in the dining room going over the events of the
day. Heero checked on the progress of his search once and came back to the table with a satisfied
expression and the remark that it was nice to be authorized to do a search since he could do it
twice as fast.

Duo yawned again and grumbled that he was really tired. Heero dragged him off to an early bed
time with a slight smirk at Wufei.

Wufei suggested a game of chess or shogi to Zechs who took him up on it with relish. They sat in
the library for some time, playing their game. Zechs finally won, by a hair. Wufei had to
surrender because he couldn't move again. But Zechs didn't get his king.

They ambled up the stairs in companionable silence and parted at Wufei's suite door, Zechs
gripped Wufei's shoulder for a moment and then turned away.

"Zechs?" Wufei licked suddenly dry lips.

Zechs turned back just in time to see the pink tip of Wufei's tongue dart out to swipe over his
amber lips. "Yes?"

"Nothing. Good night"

Zechs sighed. "Good night. Ronghuang"

Wufei shuddered once, then he turned and entered his rooms wondering exactly when he'd
grown feathers.

~ * ~

The next morning found Heero seated at the kitchen table sipping coffee and mumbling into his
phone, talking to Sr. Det Anderson. The cook was standing to one side with a wry look on her
face. She wasn't used to people invading her bailiwick at all hours of the morning demanding
coffee and breakfast.

Heero looked up as Duo came in, Duo's disgruntled expression was enough to make Heero laugh
a bit.

"What?"

"I made some notes on the inventory before I ok'd it. The chief sent an e-mail asking for a
translation into English."

Heero choked on his coffee, cleared his throat, made a strangling sound then started laughing.

Zechs walked in just then and raised an irritable eye brow, he'd had trouble sleeping and woken
up grumpy.

He was followed quickly by Wufei who snarled at Heero, took tea from the cook with a short
thank you and settled into a chair to sip his tea and convince himself that he'd had enough sleep.

Duo was trying to read his notes so he could send the translation to the chief.

"'Ro, what the hell does that say?"

Heero glanced over at the pad. "No idea. You should take writing lessons."

Duo made a face. "I tried to find some on line but they were all lessons in how to write stories
and reports. I found a really nice site about how to write a thesis but no lessons in how to write
better. So . . . Suffer."

Duo stabbed the stylus into the pad and finished his notes again.

Wufei brought his attention back to the group and sighed. "I'll give you lessons. If you'll
cooperate and not be such a . . ."

Heero supplied "Jerk? Smart ass? Um . . . help?" Heero covered his head with both hands as his
lover swatted him on top of it.

Duo looked at Wufei. "I'd like that. I hate the way I write but it's the best I can do. I never had
any lessons. Just Sister doing the best she could."

Wufei bowed from a seated position and smiled. "I'll be glad to teach you calligraphy as soon as
we have time. I'll get you a kit and everything you need." He finished his tea. "We better get to
the warehouse and see what we have to work with."

Heero grunted. "I'll check my search. I should have some information. If you'll wait a little
while, have breakfast or something. I'll come back asap."

Duo settled in a chair and smiled his best smile at the cook, who melted like butter. Zechs smiled
too and settled in a chair of his own.

Breakfast was fast and good. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, and juice, served family style.
They ate quickly and settled to wait for Heero to come back with the results of his search.

~ *~

Heero sat at the desk and reviewed the results of the search with a small smirk on his lips. He
printed out two pages and plucked the sheets from the printer. He would have just downloaded
the information to his computer but he was sure he'd need hard copy to share.

He returned to the kitchen and settled into his place. Duo handed him a plate and took the sheets
of paper from him. He looked at the map and then just handed it to Zechs. Zechs shook his head,
he didn't know where the place was.

Wufei eyed the paper and grumbled. "Warehouse district. Might have known. We'll just have to
wing it."

Heero shrugged. "We'll go in and ask nicely for our stuff. Right."

Zechs bit his lip. This could get out of hand so easily that he shuddered slightly.

"We know who we're dealing with?"

Wufei shook his head. "No. Could be anything from a bunch of computer geeks wanting free
parts to someone building who knows what . . . the kind of people who aren't afraid to kill to
keep their secrets."

"Fuck." Duo rubbed his forehead. "We'll . . ."

Heero shook his head. "Don't worry. I got their security wrapped around my little finger. All we
have to do is find that warehouse and get there. I'll get us in and we can reason with these people.
After all, I am a reasonable person . . . as long as they cooperate."

Duo snorted in amusement. Wufei rolled his eyes and Zechs just groaned.

"OK. Who's going where and doing what?"

Zechs shrugged. "If you think I'm letting you three go off on your own, you're crazy. We'll get
my chauffeur to show us on a map where this place is. Then recon. Etc. Ok?"

Wufei smiled at Zechs, this was getting interesting. Then Duo slumped with a snarl. "I can't go.
Dammit! If I don't get started now, we might not make it before Mick kicks off. Heero, you and
Wufei go. I'll take Zechs with me, he can coordinate from there and help me get things rolling.
Mr. Lyons is out sick. Emailed this morning. So I need someone with a voice, you know,
someone that I don't have to take valuable time arguing with, to pass orders on?"

Heero nodded, used to Duo's convoluted sentences. Wufei blinked languidly as he unraveled
Duo's logic. Zechs eyed Duo then Heero. He didn't care what he did as long as it was something.

Finally Heero nodded. "Ok, we can get away with that. We're just trading jailors for the day. If
we're asked any questions. Which I doubt. Fine. Wufei with me. Zechs " Heero looked at Zechs
who nodded his acceptance. "With Duo. You two better get going."

They parted ways then Duo and Zechs to the warehouse to work on the Leo. Wufei and Heero to
head to the district around the air and space port to find their missing parts.

~ * ~

Heero made a circuit of the warehouse, checking out the security. He met Wufei back at their car.

Wufei was leaning on the front quarter panel drinking a soda. The clothing he was wearing made
him look like a drop out punk. Heero looked about the same.

"Well?" Wufei didn't bother to try to hide that they were talking. What else would two guys
hanging out in this area be doing?

"No security." Heero shrugged and eyed the warehouse.

"None?" Wufei couldn't believe his ears.

"Nope. None, nada, zip, zilch. Come on."

Heero headed for the door of the warehouse with Wufei right at his side.

We're not going to just walk in . . . are we?"

"Why not. We want to buy parts and stuff. We got a rec from a friend of a friend. It usually works
that way . . . right?"

Wufei thought for a few steps. "Yeah. That's the way it works. Who are we going to say sent
us?"

"Fred."

"Why Fred?"

Heero looked at Wufei for a second. "I like the name and it's common."

"Ok. You knock or shall I?"

"You. Duo says that I sound like the Alliance when I knock." Heero shrugged. He knew he
knocked like a cop, he couldn't help it.

Wufei snickered then knocked on the door. Heero thought he sounded like a cop too.

The guy who opened the door was a very bad copy of Duo, at least Heero thought that was who
he was supposed to be. He couldn't be Chang, he wasn't Chinese.

"Welcome to my parlor. You may call me G. O. D." the idiot spelled it out and Heero winced.
Duo was going to have a fit. "You scared? You should be."

There was a yell from deeper in the room and their host yelled back. "Ok, ok. We're coming.
Don't have a hissy."

G.O.D. led them toward the voice, cutting between racks of boxes and cases. Heero sniffed a few
times and Wufei sighed. If Heero was smelling things, it was bad. How bad was yet to be
determined.

Wufei hissed, "what?" at Heero but Heero just shrugged and continued following their guide.

They came into a clear spot amid the shelving which contained several desks and tables covered
with junk and computer parts. Including some of theirs.

The other boy was Goth, black every thing, things pierced that neither Heero nor Wufei wanted
to think about. Heero wandered over to one of the tables and examined some of the scattered
computer components.

"Whatcha buildin'?" Heero glowered at Wufei so fiercely that he kept his mouth shut.

The pseudo Shinigami came over and picked up the Leo mother board and sighed. "We got a
nice computer but the mother board is crap. I thought that I could replace it with this one but it
doesn't test out either. Sucks."

Heero just shook his head. "It's dedicated, ya dumb fuck. To Leo's just like the chips there and
the desk top you're trying to fry."

"So? I'm good. If I can get it to boot, I can un dedicate it. See?"

Heero smirked. "I couldn't even undedicate it. And is that even a word?" Heero circled the boy
he thought of as Mr. Goth. "You think you're so good? You're a fuck up from the word go. What
are you up to? When you're not screwing things up, that is."

Mr. Goth got indignant. "We're the new revolution. We're starting from scratch and building a
new . . ." the boy trailed off as Heero started laughing.

Wufei simply stared. First at Heero, then at the two boys. Who stared back in fury.

"What do you think we are? The Gundam pilots were our age when they started Operation
Meteor. We're the new . . ."

Wufei made a slashing motion with one hand. "You're nothing. You're demented. If you think
you are the new anything, you're so wrong it's funny."

Mr. Goth pulled out a TP .25 and pointed it at Heero. Heero just walked up until it touched his
chest.

"What are you going to do?" He watched as the boy's hand started to tremble. "Yeah, shoot me.
Go ahead. Shoot me. I dare you. If you're really the new revolution, you'll shoot me."

The other boy got pale and gulped. Heero smirked at him as Wufei took him by the arm and just
held him.

Heero turned back to the goth. "ShootmeShootmeShootmeShootmeShootmeShootme. Can't do
it, can you?" Heero slapped the gun out of the boy's hand and caught it in mid air. "You're
pathetic. All you're doing is using the revolutionary cloak to hide your thievery. Pathetic."

The Duo wannabe finally found his voice. "Who are you? You're . . . oh."

Wufei nodded and watched as Heero laid hands on the goth. "Yes. We're the real deal. Now.
We're going to take our parts and leave. You're going to stay here . . . we'll make sure you do . . .
and wait for the cops to show up."

Heero set both boys in chairs and made good use of duct tape. Wufei watched and critiqued.
Heero frowned.

"You think I ought to gag them? I'm afraid if I do, one of them will have an asthma attack and
choke."

Wufei considered for a few moments, then decided that they didn't need to gag them. "After all,
the only people who'll be here soon are cops and they won't care one way or the other."

Heero opened his cell phone and made a call to 911. He just told them that if they wanted to
recover stolen merchandise, they should go to that address. He also told them that the offenders
were no threat to the officers coming in.

The dispatcher told them to stay where they were, and Heero gave Wufei a look. Wufei just
shrugged and drove away.

They slipped by a road block and made it back to the warehouse without any more trouble.

~ * ~

Duo started taking things apart the minute Wufei and Heero left. Zechs went to examine the
wiring harnesses that the volunteers had made after they left.

The harness was good. Each wire was measured properly and cut cleanly. Duo popped his head
over the edge of the work bench, nearly scaring Zechs to death.

"Bloody hell, Duo. Could you be any more stealthy?" Zechs realized that was stupid the minute
the words left his mouth.

Duo grinned at him. "Yeah, actually I could. Um . . . how's the inspection going?"

Zechs carefully replaced the harness set he was holding back on the bench. "Good. This is all
perfect. How many men do we have today?"

"I'm gonna take a look now. That was what I was going to tell you. But we're going to be short.
This is only Wednesday and most of the volunteers are only available on week ends. We're really
on our own. Not that most of the guys are more than grunts. Good intentions only go so far." Duo
held up a hand at Zechs's expression. "Not knocking the guys. They're all nice people, just not
experienced in mecha repairs. Be back in a little while."

Duo went into the front of the warehouse to see who was there and what they could do. He found
six guys standing watching as a truck left the area.

"What's up? I thought that there would be more of you guys here, even if it is Wednesday."

One of the men turned to Duo with a sigh. "Assignment. Her Royal Highness is going on tour
again. So we lost half our help to security and several more to fill in duties here. Sorry."

Duo shrugged, he could do it by himself if he had to, it had just been nice to have help. He
smiled at the man and remarked. "That's ok. We'll manage. After all we've got Zechs, Wufei and
Heero. They've all worked on Gundams. That's a sight harder than a Leo. So, don't be sad. We'll
get it done in time. The old guy's got time yet."

Another man walked up in time to hear Duo. "Yeah, ol' Mick'll be around for a while yet. They
got him at his brother's house now. So he'll be taking his meds and not drinking so much. He'll
have company with his nephews too. He likes those boys a bunch . . . well, we better get to
gettin'."

So the six men trooped behind Duo into the suit bay and started work.

Duo sorted the men by skills and realized that he had six electrical experts on his hands and not
one single machinist. So he got all six men working on the electrical parts of the Leo. It needed
complete rewiring so it was going to take all six of them most of the day to do that, despite the
fact that the harnesses were already made.

He yelled at Zechs that he was going to start machining the parts for the servos and went to the
materials bin for the blocks of titanium that he was going to need for the first part.

Zechs watched for a few moments then went to set up the machine he needed to re wind the
rotors. This was not going to be fun.

Duo glanced over his shoulder and saw a sight that was truly weird to his L2 eyes. The Prince of
Sanq was hunched over a machine winding rotor brushes. Duo smiled, he really liked Zechs.
Who would have thought that an L2 orphan would be befriended by the deposed Prince.

~ * ~

They stuck with their work until Wufei and Heero came back

When the car pulled into the warehouse and the door started to run down its tracks Duo just
hurried around to the trunk. Someone popped it from inside the car and Duo started lifting boxes
out of the trunk.

He turned around to carry the first box to a workbench and nearly ran into Zechs, who was
standing with his hands out, reaching for the box. Duo put the box in Zechs's hands and turned to
get another.

They made a fire brigade and passed the boxes from one man to the next until all the boxes were
out of the trunk and safely on the bench. Then Heero started carefully unpacking the parts, some
had been opened and handled. Heero just hoped that they hadn't been shocked into uselessness.
He settled with Duo to check every one of them.

Zechs started back to his machine but was stopped by Wufei.

"What have you done to your hands? You. . ." Wufei had hold of one wrist and was reaching for
the other.

Zechs pulled back. Taking his hands from Wufei's, he said softly. "It's nothing. I'll finish those
brushes then I'll do something with them."

Heero put down his tester and came to see what the whispering was about. Whispering was more
likely to attract his attention than a normal tone of voice. Duo followed, peering over his
shoulder.

"Shit, man. That's not nothing. You're raw meat. . . . 'Fei, take that idiot and do something with
those hands before they fall off. Heero, I'm gonna have to go back to machining parts unless you
can get that machining program to work. All the patterns are in the computer. See what you can
do? Please?"

Heero nodded and went back to work on the computer.

~ * ~

Oh, mugod. Stick a fork in me!


~ *~

Ronghuang = proud and sparkling [boy, implied]