Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ 3 Ties That Bind ❯ Twenty-Three ( Chapter 23 )

“It’s just…”

“I hope you loved your sister,” Jun Martin snapped. “You’ll never see her again.”

“Wait!” Som protested, sounding extremely stressed. “No! It’s just…”

“Now, Som,” Jun ordered in a growl. “I’m done waiting.”

“But…”

The vid disconnected.

Som hesitated a moment in torn indecision, then choked on a harsh breath before turning and running up the hall.

The man Quatre’d set to watching the boy opened his phone and hit the auto-dial. “Winner?”

“Yeah?” Quatre asked blankly.

“He’s on the move.”

“What?”

“Blue-boy,” the guy snapped.

“Now?”

“Yes,” the guy snapped, moving to follow.

- -

A sort of horror floated through my system as I started to run for the royal apartments.

Duo was alone in his apartment…

“Yo?” Reiko muttered.

“What agents are on L-2?” I demanded.

“Poe and her crew.”

“Send them to the…to the Shiaben residence! Get the girl and mother now!”

“Yes, sir,” he said in that crisp tone that meant I’d ruffled his decided cool.

“Their lives depend on this, Reiko!”

“Right.”

I navigated my phone menus to send a mass text to all of our group, glad I’d thought to set it up for it as I went.

The vid room was a helluva lot closer to the apartment than me climbing out of my car.

The kids were all in school…the little ones at a workshop. Alex and Marlea would be fine with Tad…

I slammed up onto stairs.

I had no idea if Som could kill Duo…or Heero…I had no idea if he…

Oh, god…Relena.

- -

I looked up as my apartment door slammed open and blinked at Som…who had tears in his eyes and a gun pointed at my chest.

So much for lunch?

The weapon clicked.

I didn’t move, a sort of disbelief settling over me.

Had I done this? Was this my fault? He’d known I’d used him…

He moved more toward me, watching me in disbelief. It was the kind of thing that was probably really stupid, because as soon as he got into arm’s range I’d disarm him. Didn’t he realize that?

The news was going to tear this to shreds…

Poor Selena…and my children…

My phone started beeping and he stopped.

I pulled the phone out, blinking several times as I raised it slowly and hit the button to open the message.

Meet at Duo’s?

I raised my eyes to Som’s as his hand started to shake.

“They’re coming,” I said quietly, staring him in the eyes. “You don’t have much time.”

I saw his trigger finger moving.

Would it hurt? What was he aiming at?

Was this really happening?

I heard Heero’s apartment door slamming open and jumped hard at the sound of the gun firing…and heard shattering glass.

I stared at the far window in disbelief as Som dived into my arms, burying his face in my chest…as he choked out a strangled cry.

That…had been the window, right?

“What the fuck!” Heero dived into the room with his gun in hand, and before anything else could register, I was turning and diving sideways with Som in my arms.

Another shot…more glass.

Damn, Selena was going to be pissed…

“Duo!” Quatre’s voice was scared…and then I heard a struggle, curling around the boy as best I could at the sound of the soldiers.

Shouted orders…Trowa demanding what was going on…Quatre shouting for me…

Som was going to kill me.

I pulled away from the boy to meet his eyes.

“Duo!”

“I’m all right!” I said quickly, turning to look at he and Heero as Heero dived down beside me, looking for a wound. “I’m fine,” I said quickly…

“What’s going on?!” Heero shouted over the noise.

“Why were there gunshots?” Wufei demanded, appearing behind Quatre. “Som!”

“My sister!” Som returned, raising his head to look at Quatre. “My mom!”

“Som!” Trowa dived around to grab the boy up…and saw the weapon.

“He wants me to kill you,” Som informed me, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I can’t do it, Duo…I…”

Jacob spilled into the room, his eyes huge as he looked us all over.

“Oh god, the kids!” I shouted, turning and diving for my vid.

“He won't know!” Som protested.

“Get to the schools now!” I snapped at the leading officer who was staring at me. “Get my wife! Now!”

“Sir!”

I hit the button to dial Alex.

“Hey, tio…”

“Get in doors, lock-down,” I ordered her crisply.

“What?” she asked, suddenly sounding scared.

Yeah, I didn’t call her for our games of keep-away.

“Now!” I shouted. “Move! Tell Tad its zero-zero-two!”

“Zero-zero-two?” Alex asked blankly.

I heard Tad hiss a curse, and Alex squealed.

I swallowed, realizing that Som had actually taken a shot and turning on him.

“I’m sorry…”

He was on his knees and we were all staring at him.

“I’m so sorry…”

I moved the few steps to him and yanked him up by the collar of his shirt, slamming him against the wall. “Who?”

“Jun,” he returned, not fighting me in the slightest. “It was Jun.”

“Why?”

“He hates you,” Som replied, hissing his breaths through his teeth.

“What was the full extent?” Quatre demanded.

“He…he wanted me to...he said you’re always in heat and you liked the pretty little Asians.”

…that was fucked up.

“I was supposed to create a scandal,” he added. “He didn’t think it’d take as long as it did…but I was supposed to press charges and make it public…”

“But you didn’t, why?”

He stared back at me.

“Why not?” I demanded. “You hate me so bad to kill me?”

“No!” he returned, raising his hands to grab my wrist. “Duo…”

“Just like all the others?” I persisted, shoving at him. “That’s what you said…I was just like all the others…”

“He threatened my sister,” he protested, more tears falling down his cheeks. “When I was taking too long, he told me that if I didn’t do it, she’d be dead.”

I turned my head slightly.

“I’m expecting Poe to call any second now,” Quatre noted.

“What?” Som asked.

“I told you I’d been watching you,” Quatre noted darkly. “I saw you scared, but you mistook my intent.”

“Help,” he noted, his eyes widening slightly. “You…you…”

“Tomé’s idea was to create as scandal by getting some pretty little girl intern set up with Duo,” Quatre informed the others. “We all had a good laugh about that because we all know that Duo wouldn’t cheat on Selena with another girl. A boy, though…a pretty little Asian…”

Som looked away.

“So he shows up, makes us all believe he couldn’t join if he got sent away…and he was probably right…sits around in Duo’s office…you were trying.”

“I did at first,” he admitted, “but then…”

I looked back to him in disbelief. “I let you by my children. You saw my son when he wasn’t even an hour old…”

“Did you hear me mentioning that I have his mom and sister?” Quatre asked sweetly. “Shit, Duo, I heard the shots. He was trained just like us, you think he’d miss at that close of range?”

“One was mine,” Heero noted. “Duo dived with him.”

“What?” Wufei demanded.

“I couldn’t do it,” Som breathed, staring into my face. “I couldn’t do it…”

“But you shot,” I reminded him.

He laughed very slightly, dropping his head back…the shot was at the top of the window, and the other would have been Heero’s because it was low in the other corner.

“Uncle?” Alex asked in a scared voice.

“Just stay with Tad, baby,” Trowa said quickly, moving to the vid.

“I can’t hear you very good,” she noted.

“You don’t need to,” Trowa returned. “Just wait for the team to get there.”

“All right.”

My cell started ringing.

I let Som go, and he slid down the wall, curling up slightly against it. “Yeah?”

“We’ve got the kids,” a man explained. “We’re loading them into the SUVs.”

“Get them here,” I ordered, hanging up. I popped my neck as my phone started ringing again. “Yeah?”

“What’s going on?” Selena demanded. “What’s happening?”

“There was an attempt on my life,” I noted dryly.

Som curled up even more.

“What?” Selena nearly shrieked.

“Just go with the team,” I retorted. “The sooner you get here, the better.”

“Duo, what’s happening?”

Quatre’s phone started ringing.

“Can you just wait until you get here?” I snapped pointedly.

“Fine,” she agreed, hanging up.

“The girl?” Quatre demanded.

Som’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t hurt her,” he retorted. “She doesn’t understand what’s happening. As far as they know, Som’s just killed Duo…oh don’t take that tone with me,” he added in annoyance. “Tell them that Duo and Som are both fine.”

I settled back, looking down at the guy. My shoulders were tense. I shook my head slightly again.

“Duo?” Heero asked quietly, moving forward.

I shook my head again.

“Hey,” Heero’s hands rested on my shoulders. “You need to relax…”

“It is a twitch, isn’t it?” Trowa muttered.

“A tic, anyway,” Heero agreed.

“What?” I demanded, turning on him.

“When you’re stressed you have a tic,” Heero retorted. “I’ve been watching it get worse for a year now.”

I blinked at him and shook my head again.

He grinned slightly at me.

“I was going to tell you,” Som informed Trowa in a small voice.

“I figured as soon as I realized what was going on,” Trowa reassured him, moving forward to rest a hand on my shoulder. “Jun knows your vices. He just didn’t realize you’d actually be loyal to Nira.”

“Some loyalty,” I retorted, shaking my head again, then running my hands along my neck and shoulders.

“Daddy? I hear something…”

We all focused on the vid.

Screams…gunshots.

“I swear on my life,” Tad’s voice came.

“Tad?” Alex demanded.

“I swear to you,” Tad added.

“Wait! Tad!” Marlea shouted.

“Tad? Tad?” I moved to the vid. “Don’t go out!”

“Duo said don’t go!” Alex started squeaking.

More gunshots.

“No! Tad!”

“Stay here, stay quiet,” Tad snapped back…we all heard a click.

“He left,” Alex squeaked.

“We’re on our way,” I noted, then pointed at Som. “I swear if you’re not here when I get back I will hunt you down!”

He nodded.

“I’m calling on my cell,” Trowa snapped…and disconnected the vid.

“Keep Relena and Tasia guarded,” Heero snarled at the guard near the door. “Keep Ryu in Maxwell’s apartment.”

“Sir!” the two men agreed.

We ran.

- -

Marlea and I were sitting in an inner corner of the room, waiting as the shouting outside continued. I could hear my dad ordering people in the background…or one of my uncles…but other than that, we knew nothing.

“No!” Tad was shouting in a choked voice.

I started to rise.

“No,” Marlea returned, covering her mouth with her hand.

“He swore to us,” I protested, grabbing her arm. “We can’t just…”

“Just what?” she returned, tears in her eyes. “What can we do? You hear the gunshots, we aren’t armed.”

“But there’s got to be something…”

The door to the room we were in slammed open and Tad stumbled backwards.

“Tad!” I squeaked, diving for him…

My ears rang at the sound of the gunshot, and absolute horror washed over me as I saw the blood rising from my bodyguard’s stomach.

“Stupid ass,” someone was muttering in aggravation, turning to look at us.

“That’s them,” a blond guy noted, looking us over. “Cuties, huh?”

“Let’s go, honey,” the man who’d just shot Tad ordered, extending a hand to me.

We stood frozen in horror.

“We don’t have all day, little girl,” the man noted.

“Alex,” Marlea whispered, her eyes flashing to our way out—beside the blond was just enough room for us to run.

“I swear...” Tad whispered…and gagged.

“Tad…” I protested.

His eyes were on mine and he looked to the door pointedly.

Time to run.

I swallowed as we moved closer to the men, who expected no less from couple of sixteen year old girls…

We ran.