Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 113 ( Chapter 113 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: GW_ShenLong 
Heero and Wufei arrive at their destination, Devlin tries to negotiate with Jackson and Sally attempts to stop Duo's contractions.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Angst / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.19.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 931 | Status: Completed
Heero and Wufei arrive at their destination, Devlin tries to negotiate with Jackson and Sally attempts to stop Duo's contractions.
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Angst / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.19.2005 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.3K | Visits: 931 | Status: Completed
Please see previous chapters for notes, disclaimers etc.
"Chimaera"
October. 2003 ShenLong
Chapter 113
[Television Crew]
"As you can see, there isn't much happening here at the moment. No further contact has been made with the terrorists that we know of, and we're unsure if the terrorists have contacted the police. The rumor going around is that the terrorists want some war criminals released in return for the safe release of the hostages, which confirms what we were told previously,; although official sources have yet to say anything definite on this either way. We don't as yet have an identity on the unfortunate victim from earlier but we do know he was part of the military which also confirms our earlier suspicions that military personnel are amongst those being detained. This is Jasmine Marshall reporting live from the Glasshouse."
Phil lowered the camera from his shoulder and took a look around. Phil stuck his head out from inside the van and gave the thumbs up. Terry hopped out of the van and took out a packet of cigarettes. He shook it and pulled a stick from inside, placed it in his lips and lit it. He inhaled deeply then blew out the smoke into the late afternoon air.
"Boss says it's all good so far. He wants you to try and get some more inside info on what's going on up there if you can," said Terry as he took another drag.
"Fucking hell, he doesn't want much, does he?" snapped Paul. The camera man's sense of compassion was kicking in big time and while he knew the public had a right to know what was going on, there wasn't any need to exploit the situation any more than it already was. Those people up there were someone's son, brother, husband, father and he knew if it were one of his own relatives he wouldn't want them being used to sensationalize the headlines. Seemed Jasmine had also found a sense of morality.
"There's only so much information we can get and of that there's only a certain amount we can transmit without being held accountable or sued," Jasmine said in disgust. "We were lucky to get away with screening that poor guy's fall to earth." Jasmine shuddered as she recalled the body crashing down.
"Yeah, I know but the boss wants all he can get," repeated Terry.
Jasmine gave the man a look of disdain. She really didn't like the guy. He was a sleaze in her opinion, always pushing, always chasing the female population at work and trying to get into their pants. He made her uncomfortable to say the least. Movement to the side caught her eye and Jasmine looked around to see a couple of Preventer officers coming their way. "Now what?" she muttered.
Phil and Paul also looked up and spotted the agents. Paul was quick to hand Phil the camera and the tech removed the tape, putting it in a safe place inside the van.
Jasmine smoothed down her skirt and quickly turned to her coworkers. "Let me handle this," she said quietly.
Phil and Paul nodded, more than happy to let the reporter speak with the agents, after all, she did have a silver tongue.
"That's it, use your womanly charms on the helpless dicks," mumbled Terry as he crushed his cigarette out.
Hearing the words, Phil lowered his hand to Terry's shoulder, the fact that he was still poised in the van's doorway giving him extra height and grunt. He squeezed - hard. "I suggest you shut your mouth now."
Terry froze as pain invaded his shoulder from the vice-like grip of the tech. "I won't breathe another word," he muttered with a scowl and then relaxed as the pressure to his shoulder eased.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?"
* * *
[Preventer Hospital]
Sally wheeled a grumbling Duo through the hospital corridors as quickly as she dared. She took the shortest route and fortunately they only passed a couple of nurses and an orderly on their way to the ward Sally had ready. They approached a couple of glass doors and Sally swiped her card through the locking system.
"Isolation?" asked Duo and cocked his head as he read the words printed on the glass.
"Safest place," replied Sally. "You have to have special clearance and a card to access this section of the hospital. That clearance has to come from me."
"Good thinking," said Trowa as he followed the nurse and Sally through the doors.
"It isn't in use at the moment; in fact it doesn't get used very often at all, which makes it the perfect place for Duo. But should we get a case that requires isolation then I'll find somewhere else for that case." Sally stopped the wheelchair at the third door on the left. "Here we are."
Duo looked around the room. It was the same as any hospital ward room. A bed, side cabinet, television and the inevitable draw around curtains. There were also a couple of other pieces of equipment in the room, and ultra sound machine and what looked like a square box on wheels. The purpose of the 'box' he was to find out later.
"Let's get you out of the wheelchair and onto the bed. I've got a hospital gown here which I'd like you to put on. I'll need you to strip off, leaving just your underwear on for the moment and the gown," said Sally as she pushed the wheelchair to the side of the bed and began to pull the curtains around leaving Nurse Brown alone with Duo.
"Okay," replied Duo and began to lever himself out of the wheelchair.
Nurse Brown stepped up beside him and gave him a hand. "Are you all right to get changed yourself, or would you like some help?" she asked kindly.
"I should be okay," said Duo, "but could Trowa wait outside just in case I need any help?" Duo couldn't help the blush that graced his cheeks. He was feeling rather lost and vulnerable at the moment and despite the fact that he knew both Sally and the nurse well and knew they had both seen him pretty much naked before, he felt safer with just Trowa there. He really wanted Heero but that wasn't possible at the moment.
Nurse Brown patted his arm. "I understand, Duo. I'll get Trowa to wait just outside the curtain, he can unpack your bag for you while you get changed. "I'll get Doctor Po to step outside with me and show me which theater we will be using."
Duo gave the nurse a grateful smile. "Thanks. I guess I'm just..."
Nurse Brown placed her arms around the young man and gave him a hug. She soothed his fears with gentle stroking to his back and soft words of reassurance in his ear. "Everything is going to be fine, Duo. Doctor Po and I will take good care of you and it won't be long before that husband of yours is here."
The hug was just what Duo needed and he hugged back, stifling a sniffle as he did. He listened to the nurse's words of reassurance and felt himself relax a bit. "What if Heero doesn't get here in time?" he asked with a quaver to his voice. "I want him here to see the baby born, he should be here, it's his child too." Duo knew he was whining, complaining, but he didn't care. This was an important event and Heero should be here by his side, supporting and offering comfort, not chasing down some assholes that decided they wanted to rule the world!
"Oh, Duo. Trust me, when I say that in the short time I've known the both of you I've never met a couple more devoted to each other than you two are. Heero loves you and you don't think he's going to let something like a few terrorists keep him from being present at the birth of his child now, do you? Why he's probably got them cowering in a corner by now with just one of those looks of his. You'll see, he will be here all right or he isn't the man I know." Nurse Brown crossed her fingers just to be on the safe side.
Duo gave a soft sigh. "Yeah, you're right. The Heero I know will be doing everything he can to wrap up this case and get here in time. I hope he's okay."
"He will be," replied the nurse. "Now how about you get changed so Doctor Po and I can check you out and see what we can do about these contractions."
"Okay." Duo pulled out of the embrace and paused. "Thanks, not just for the reassurance but for everything. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with and both Heero and I have given you more than your fair share of grief these past few weeks..."
"Try months," said the nurse with a wry grin.
"Okay, months, but we really do appreciate everything you have done for us, all three of us." Duo rubbed his belly as he spoke.
"No thanks needed, Duo. It has been my pleasure. Now, if you don't get yourself changed you'll be finding yourself on the other end of my compassion, the one that administers an enema."
Duo shuddered. "Point acknowledged."
Nurse Brown gave a chuckle and stepped out from inside the curtain. She quickly explained to Trowa what was happening and then took the doctor by the arm and steered her out of the room.
* * *
[Outside the Glasshouse]
Une looked across at Devlin who was carrying on a rather animated conversation with the cell 'phone. She sighed knowing from the look on the man's face and the gestures he was making that he wasn't having too much luck. She really hadn't expected him to though, especially now with the extra information she'd received on the terrorists. She could only hope and pray that the two agents inside the building would arrive at their destination fairly quickly and that Devlin could succeed in keeping the terrorists occupied and stalled long enough for said agents to get into position. With two bodies already she really didn't want anymore.
"It would certainly look better for you if you were to release some of the hostages... The government would be more inclined to push things along... Please, there's no need..." Devlin tried every trick in the book to negotiate the release of the hostages but this terrorist didn't want to know. He was adamant in his demands and wouldn't be swayed. Devlin tried a different tack.
"And what happens if you kill all your hostages before the government has time to comply with your demands? Things like this cannot be done in a matter of minutes. There is a certain protocol that has to be adhered to, channels that have to be gone through. I assure you it isn't as simple as unlocking a door... No, there isn't any need for... Shit!"
Une looked across with a frown at the expletive.
"Sorry, he hung up on me," Devlin said as he pressed the disconnect button. "I'll try again in a minute or two."
"What happened?"
"I hate to say this, Commander Une, but he's one tough cookie. He doesn't want to listen to any form of reason, he's adamant that he wants the release of those OZ prisoners. If you ask me he's a little on the insane side."
Une snorted. "I kind of figured that. No one with a sane mind would take people hostage and then proceed to kill them one by one. What can we do about it? The infiltrating agents shouldn't be too far off now and we have..." Une looked at her watch, "ten minutes before the end of the hour and another casualty."
"All I can do is call him again and try to get him to see reason."
"Then please do that, just keep calm though and don't agitate him anymore than he already seems to be."
Devlin nodded and moved aside again, opening up the 'phone to try again.
Une turned as Agent Winter approached. "Winter?"
"Commander. The television crew doesn't have anything more to add to what we already know. They have been warned though about the legalities involved with their transmissions from the site."
"Good. I do realize that the media has to play a part to a point, but we need to make sure they don't breech the standards of the broadcasting tribunal," replied Une.
"The body that fell from the window has been identified as a Sergeant Wilcox, twenty-six years old and part of the military team currently in negotiations for the provision of safe houses for war veterans. He was killed with a clean shot to the forehead, bullet from a semi automatic."
"I see. It would appear then that Winner's cryptic message was decoded correctly, they are carrying semi automatics. I will need to inform the agents inside of this."
"Commander, Intelligence has also supplied us with a list of the hostages."
"Go ahead, Winter, I'm listening."
"From the Military there is a Corporal Weeks, Lieutenant Hicks, Major Klein, Sergeant Wilcox, whom we know is dead, and General Gordon. The businessmen and Senators are a Mr. Winner, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Fredricks, Mr. Daley, Mr. Proctor, Mr. Logan, and Mr. Patterson."
"Damn." Une recognized several of the names as being high profile politicians. She knew that one of the Senators was dead already, but which one? "Thank you, Winter. I'll pass that information on to Agent's Fire and Day. Please have your team on standby and ready to move. Until those agents reach the target we can't do much else other than hope Devlin can make Jackson see some reason. Once the agents notify us of an all clear we cannot start to penetrate the building, there may be booby traps set."
"Roger that, Commander. Anything else we can do in the meantime?"
"Yes. Pray."
Winter wisely didn't question the Commander but went back to his unit.
Une flipped open her cell 'phone and punched in a number. The call connected quickly. "Sally? How's Duo?"
* * *
[Air Conditioning Duct]
Heero looked up the vertical shaft and gave a soft sigh of relief. This was the last one, once they had scaled this one they would be on the twelfth floor and it was then just a case of following the blue prints until they located the room in which the terrorists were ensconced.
Wufei checked the palm top again. "Down here and then it should be the first duct branch on the left. We follow that and go into the second on the right, that should bring us directly above the conference room they're in. According to this plan about eight feet in is the first duct, the second is another ten."
"Roger that. You take the first vent and I'll take the second," replied Heero. We can see what light there is once we get into the duct. I doubt there will be much so we will have to be careful with the flashlight. Once I'm in position I'll turn the light off. Observe, see where the terrorists are positioned then meet in the middle and we will work out what to do next."
"Right. Move out then."
The pair began to crawl once more through the ducts, this time taking extra care to be as silent as they could.
[Preventer Hospital]
Duo managed to change out of his clothes and into the gown that Nurse Brown had left for him. It was papery and scratched against his skin. Pulling the curtain aside he came face to face with Trowa.
"You okay, Duo?"
"Yeah. Any chance you could do up the ties on the back of this thing for me? I can't quite reach myself and the air's a little cold around the back quarter."
Trowa chuckled lightly and quickly did up the ties. "There you go."
"Thanks." Duo turned and sat on the bed while Trowa pulled the curtains back completely and then sat in the chair beside the bed. Duo swung his legs, deep in thought. "You think Heero and Quatre..."
"Duo," Trowa cut the pregnant man off. "Heero said he would do all he could to keep Quatre safe. Quatre isn't as helpless as he would have us all believe either. He's one astute businessman and has a silver tongue when he wants. I have faith in his abilities and so should you in Heero's."
"I do," protested Duo. "I just want him here though. Trowa... I know this is going to sound awful and I love Quat, really I do, but why does it have to be Heero to go in there?"
"Oh, Duo. Trowa stood up and sat next to the long haired man on the bed. He draped an arm over Duo's shoulders. "I know you care about Quatre but it is only natural that you should be feeling some resentment. I wish that Heero didn't have to go in there either. I agree, he should be here with you and it should be me that is in that building with Wufei advancing on those terrorists, but unfortunately it isn't possible. I guess we're just both going to have to trust our husbands to make the right decisions and come back to us safe and sound."
Duo sighed and rested his head against Trowa's shoulder. Trowa was right, Duo knew that and until both their husbands were safe they would simply have to accept the situation.
"How about I put on the television and see if there's any updates at all?" said Trowa softly as he rubbed Duo's back.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," replied Duo.
Outside in the hall way, Sally's 'phone began to ring, Sally pulled it from her belt and answered it. "Sally Po."
Une's voice came down the line asking after Duo.
"Duo is here at the hospital and safe. I'm going to do a preliminary check on both him and the baby as soon as he's changed. Depending on the child's condition and the contractions I hope to be able to stop them and hold off on the delivery until Heero is able to finish the mission and get back here."
Sally listened for a few moments to what Une was saying, her brow furrowing as she received the updated information on the terrorists. "They sound like a really friendly mob," said Sally sarcastically. "What's the latest from Wufei and Heero?"
Again Sally listened as Une filled her in. "Hopefully all this will be at an end then very soon," she said softly. "Okay, I'll let Trowa and Duo know. Contact me as soon as you have anything further, I'll also be in touch to update you on Duo's condition once I've had the chance to run the tests. Good luck, Une." Sally cut the call and placed the cell 'phone back on her belt.
"Any news?" asked Nurse Brown.
Sally relayed the information Une had given her on Jackson, Devlin's attempt to negotiate with the terrorist as well as Heero and Wufei's current position.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed that all this is ended and soon. Meanwhile we have a young man in there that needs our attention. By the way, where's Doctor G?" said the nurse.
"I told him I would call for him if and when I needed his assistance. I figured that Duo doesn't really need him around at this stage and if all goes well we shouldn't need him until the C-section, if at all."
"That's probably a good idea. The less stress on that young man at the moment, the better."
"How right you are. Come on, let's see what we can do about these contractions." Sally turned and knocked on the door. "Duo? Okay if we come back in now?"
"Sure," came the reply.
Sally and Nurse Brown stepped back into the room, Trowa moved off the bed to allow Duo to lie down as Sally stepped up to examine the pregnant man. Nurse Brown brought the blood pressure unit across and then the ultra sound unit. Sally wrapped the cuff around Duo's upper arm and proceeded to record his blood pressure while the nurse fetched the gel and switched on the ultra sound machine.
"Blood pressure is a little high but that is to be expected under the circumstances. I don't want it to go any higher though. Now, let us see what's going on inside." Sally lifted Duo's gown and pushed his boxers down a little so she could spread the gel over his abdomen. Picking up the sound head, she placed it on Duo's belly and began to move it around. Twiddling a few of the knobs on the machine, Sally brought the screen into focus and then searched around for the baby's position.
The lines on the screen condensed to form the outline of the child inside. Sally swallowed as she scanned around, noting the position of the child and Duo's stressed organs. "Damn!" she muttered under her breath.
"What is it?" asked Duo, his voice full of concern.
"The baby has turned completely and is head down, ready in the birth position."
"Only it can't come out the usual way," whispered Duo.
"No, it can't. We need to stop these contractions now. Margaret?"
"Yes?"
"Get me a fetal monitor as quickly as you can, I want to see if this baby is under any stress. I'll go get the drugs we need to stop these contractions."
"Right on it," replied the nurse as she left the room, her legs carrying her away as fast as she dared to go without running.
"Duo, I'm going to the dispensary to fetch the drugs I'll need to try and halt this labor of yours. I won't be long, okay?"
"Okay, Sally," replied Duo, his face looking worried.
"I'll watch him," said Trowa as he stepped up to the side of the bed again.
"I'll be as quick as I can," said Sally as she replaced the sound head and left the room.
A few minutes passed and Nurse Brown returned with a small monitor in her hand. "I'm going to strap this to your belly, Duo," said the nurse. "It will keep track of your baby's heart rate so we can tell if it starts to get stressed at all and take evasive action."
"Okay." Duo shifted a little so the nurse could buckle the device around him. Once it was done up and in place, the nurse turned the device on and watched the small screen. "What does it say?" asked Duo as he watched the nurse's face for any sign of something being amiss.
"One hundred and twenty five beats a minute," replied the nurse.
"That high?"
"Not overly so but it needs to be watched. If it starts going up too much more then we will need to do something quickly and avoid any harm to the child," replied the nurse.
Sally entered the room then with a syringe and bottle in one hand, bag of saline and intravenous equipment in the other. She passed the bag and other instruments to the nurse. "Can you hook that drip up into Duo for me please? I'll give him this shot now and then we can top him up as necessary through the drip."
Nurse Brown took the items and nodded. She proceeded to raise the vein on Duo's arm and slip the needle in before hooking up the IV to the canula. Once done she checked the flow rate, adjusted it slightly and then gave a satisfied smile.
Sally injected the drug into Duo's system and wiped the site with an alcohol swab. Putting the needle into the sharps container she turned back to Duo and checked the fetal heart monitor. "Now all we can do is wait for the drug to do its job."
~ * ~
tbc.........
"Chimaera"
October. 2003 ShenLong
Chapter 113
[Television Crew]
"As you can see, there isn't much happening here at the moment. No further contact has been made with the terrorists that we know of, and we're unsure if the terrorists have contacted the police. The rumor going around is that the terrorists want some war criminals released in return for the safe release of the hostages, which confirms what we were told previously,; although official sources have yet to say anything definite on this either way. We don't as yet have an identity on the unfortunate victim from earlier but we do know he was part of the military which also confirms our earlier suspicions that military personnel are amongst those being detained. This is Jasmine Marshall reporting live from the Glasshouse."
Phil lowered the camera from his shoulder and took a look around. Phil stuck his head out from inside the van and gave the thumbs up. Terry hopped out of the van and took out a packet of cigarettes. He shook it and pulled a stick from inside, placed it in his lips and lit it. He inhaled deeply then blew out the smoke into the late afternoon air.
"Boss says it's all good so far. He wants you to try and get some more inside info on what's going on up there if you can," said Terry as he took another drag.
"Fucking hell, he doesn't want much, does he?" snapped Paul. The camera man's sense of compassion was kicking in big time and while he knew the public had a right to know what was going on, there wasn't any need to exploit the situation any more than it already was. Those people up there were someone's son, brother, husband, father and he knew if it were one of his own relatives he wouldn't want them being used to sensationalize the headlines. Seemed Jasmine had also found a sense of morality.
"There's only so much information we can get and of that there's only a certain amount we can transmit without being held accountable or sued," Jasmine said in disgust. "We were lucky to get away with screening that poor guy's fall to earth." Jasmine shuddered as she recalled the body crashing down.
"Yeah, I know but the boss wants all he can get," repeated Terry.
Jasmine gave the man a look of disdain. She really didn't like the guy. He was a sleaze in her opinion, always pushing, always chasing the female population at work and trying to get into their pants. He made her uncomfortable to say the least. Movement to the side caught her eye and Jasmine looked around to see a couple of Preventer officers coming their way. "Now what?" she muttered.
Phil and Paul also looked up and spotted the agents. Paul was quick to hand Phil the camera and the tech removed the tape, putting it in a safe place inside the van.
Jasmine smoothed down her skirt and quickly turned to her coworkers. "Let me handle this," she said quietly.
Phil and Paul nodded, more than happy to let the reporter speak with the agents, after all, she did have a silver tongue.
"That's it, use your womanly charms on the helpless dicks," mumbled Terry as he crushed his cigarette out.
Hearing the words, Phil lowered his hand to Terry's shoulder, the fact that he was still poised in the van's doorway giving him extra height and grunt. He squeezed - hard. "I suggest you shut your mouth now."
Terry froze as pain invaded his shoulder from the vice-like grip of the tech. "I won't breathe another word," he muttered with a scowl and then relaxed as the pressure to his shoulder eased.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?"
* * *
[Preventer Hospital]
Sally wheeled a grumbling Duo through the hospital corridors as quickly as she dared. She took the shortest route and fortunately they only passed a couple of nurses and an orderly on their way to the ward Sally had ready. They approached a couple of glass doors and Sally swiped her card through the locking system.
"Isolation?" asked Duo and cocked his head as he read the words printed on the glass.
"Safest place," replied Sally. "You have to have special clearance and a card to access this section of the hospital. That clearance has to come from me."
"Good thinking," said Trowa as he followed the nurse and Sally through the doors.
"It isn't in use at the moment; in fact it doesn't get used very often at all, which makes it the perfect place for Duo. But should we get a case that requires isolation then I'll find somewhere else for that case." Sally stopped the wheelchair at the third door on the left. "Here we are."
Duo looked around the room. It was the same as any hospital ward room. A bed, side cabinet, television and the inevitable draw around curtains. There were also a couple of other pieces of equipment in the room, and ultra sound machine and what looked like a square box on wheels. The purpose of the 'box' he was to find out later.
"Let's get you out of the wheelchair and onto the bed. I've got a hospital gown here which I'd like you to put on. I'll need you to strip off, leaving just your underwear on for the moment and the gown," said Sally as she pushed the wheelchair to the side of the bed and began to pull the curtains around leaving Nurse Brown alone with Duo.
"Okay," replied Duo and began to lever himself out of the wheelchair.
Nurse Brown stepped up beside him and gave him a hand. "Are you all right to get changed yourself, or would you like some help?" she asked kindly.
"I should be okay," said Duo, "but could Trowa wait outside just in case I need any help?" Duo couldn't help the blush that graced his cheeks. He was feeling rather lost and vulnerable at the moment and despite the fact that he knew both Sally and the nurse well and knew they had both seen him pretty much naked before, he felt safer with just Trowa there. He really wanted Heero but that wasn't possible at the moment.
Nurse Brown patted his arm. "I understand, Duo. I'll get Trowa to wait just outside the curtain, he can unpack your bag for you while you get changed. "I'll get Doctor Po to step outside with me and show me which theater we will be using."
Duo gave the nurse a grateful smile. "Thanks. I guess I'm just..."
Nurse Brown placed her arms around the young man and gave him a hug. She soothed his fears with gentle stroking to his back and soft words of reassurance in his ear. "Everything is going to be fine, Duo. Doctor Po and I will take good care of you and it won't be long before that husband of yours is here."
The hug was just what Duo needed and he hugged back, stifling a sniffle as he did. He listened to the nurse's words of reassurance and felt himself relax a bit. "What if Heero doesn't get here in time?" he asked with a quaver to his voice. "I want him here to see the baby born, he should be here, it's his child too." Duo knew he was whining, complaining, but he didn't care. This was an important event and Heero should be here by his side, supporting and offering comfort, not chasing down some assholes that decided they wanted to rule the world!
"Oh, Duo. Trust me, when I say that in the short time I've known the both of you I've never met a couple more devoted to each other than you two are. Heero loves you and you don't think he's going to let something like a few terrorists keep him from being present at the birth of his child now, do you? Why he's probably got them cowering in a corner by now with just one of those looks of his. You'll see, he will be here all right or he isn't the man I know." Nurse Brown crossed her fingers just to be on the safe side.
Duo gave a soft sigh. "Yeah, you're right. The Heero I know will be doing everything he can to wrap up this case and get here in time. I hope he's okay."
"He will be," replied the nurse. "Now how about you get changed so Doctor Po and I can check you out and see what we can do about these contractions."
"Okay." Duo pulled out of the embrace and paused. "Thanks, not just for the reassurance but for everything. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with and both Heero and I have given you more than your fair share of grief these past few weeks..."
"Try months," said the nurse with a wry grin.
"Okay, months, but we really do appreciate everything you have done for us, all three of us." Duo rubbed his belly as he spoke.
"No thanks needed, Duo. It has been my pleasure. Now, if you don't get yourself changed you'll be finding yourself on the other end of my compassion, the one that administers an enema."
Duo shuddered. "Point acknowledged."
Nurse Brown gave a chuckle and stepped out from inside the curtain. She quickly explained to Trowa what was happening and then took the doctor by the arm and steered her out of the room.
* * *
[Outside the Glasshouse]
Une looked across at Devlin who was carrying on a rather animated conversation with the cell 'phone. She sighed knowing from the look on the man's face and the gestures he was making that he wasn't having too much luck. She really hadn't expected him to though, especially now with the extra information she'd received on the terrorists. She could only hope and pray that the two agents inside the building would arrive at their destination fairly quickly and that Devlin could succeed in keeping the terrorists occupied and stalled long enough for said agents to get into position. With two bodies already she really didn't want anymore.
"It would certainly look better for you if you were to release some of the hostages... The government would be more inclined to push things along... Please, there's no need..." Devlin tried every trick in the book to negotiate the release of the hostages but this terrorist didn't want to know. He was adamant in his demands and wouldn't be swayed. Devlin tried a different tack.
"And what happens if you kill all your hostages before the government has time to comply with your demands? Things like this cannot be done in a matter of minutes. There is a certain protocol that has to be adhered to, channels that have to be gone through. I assure you it isn't as simple as unlocking a door... No, there isn't any need for... Shit!"
Une looked across with a frown at the expletive.
"Sorry, he hung up on me," Devlin said as he pressed the disconnect button. "I'll try again in a minute or two."
"What happened?"
"I hate to say this, Commander Une, but he's one tough cookie. He doesn't want to listen to any form of reason, he's adamant that he wants the release of those OZ prisoners. If you ask me he's a little on the insane side."
Une snorted. "I kind of figured that. No one with a sane mind would take people hostage and then proceed to kill them one by one. What can we do about it? The infiltrating agents shouldn't be too far off now and we have..." Une looked at her watch, "ten minutes before the end of the hour and another casualty."
"All I can do is call him again and try to get him to see reason."
"Then please do that, just keep calm though and don't agitate him anymore than he already seems to be."
Devlin nodded and moved aside again, opening up the 'phone to try again.
Une turned as Agent Winter approached. "Winter?"
"Commander. The television crew doesn't have anything more to add to what we already know. They have been warned though about the legalities involved with their transmissions from the site."
"Good. I do realize that the media has to play a part to a point, but we need to make sure they don't breech the standards of the broadcasting tribunal," replied Une.
"The body that fell from the window has been identified as a Sergeant Wilcox, twenty-six years old and part of the military team currently in negotiations for the provision of safe houses for war veterans. He was killed with a clean shot to the forehead, bullet from a semi automatic."
"I see. It would appear then that Winner's cryptic message was decoded correctly, they are carrying semi automatics. I will need to inform the agents inside of this."
"Commander, Intelligence has also supplied us with a list of the hostages."
"Go ahead, Winter, I'm listening."
"From the Military there is a Corporal Weeks, Lieutenant Hicks, Major Klein, Sergeant Wilcox, whom we know is dead, and General Gordon. The businessmen and Senators are a Mr. Winner, Mr. Anderson, Mr. Fredricks, Mr. Daley, Mr. Proctor, Mr. Logan, and Mr. Patterson."
"Damn." Une recognized several of the names as being high profile politicians. She knew that one of the Senators was dead already, but which one? "Thank you, Winter. I'll pass that information on to Agent's Fire and Day. Please have your team on standby and ready to move. Until those agents reach the target we can't do much else other than hope Devlin can make Jackson see some reason. Once the agents notify us of an all clear we cannot start to penetrate the building, there may be booby traps set."
"Roger that, Commander. Anything else we can do in the meantime?"
"Yes. Pray."
Winter wisely didn't question the Commander but went back to his unit.
Une flipped open her cell 'phone and punched in a number. The call connected quickly. "Sally? How's Duo?"
* * *
[Air Conditioning Duct]
Heero looked up the vertical shaft and gave a soft sigh of relief. This was the last one, once they had scaled this one they would be on the twelfth floor and it was then just a case of following the blue prints until they located the room in which the terrorists were ensconced.
Wufei checked the palm top again. "Down here and then it should be the first duct branch on the left. We follow that and go into the second on the right, that should bring us directly above the conference room they're in. According to this plan about eight feet in is the first duct, the second is another ten."
"Roger that. You take the first vent and I'll take the second," replied Heero. We can see what light there is once we get into the duct. I doubt there will be much so we will have to be careful with the flashlight. Once I'm in position I'll turn the light off. Observe, see where the terrorists are positioned then meet in the middle and we will work out what to do next."
"Right. Move out then."
The pair began to crawl once more through the ducts, this time taking extra care to be as silent as they could.
[Preventer Hospital]
Duo managed to change out of his clothes and into the gown that Nurse Brown had left for him. It was papery and scratched against his skin. Pulling the curtain aside he came face to face with Trowa.
"You okay, Duo?"
"Yeah. Any chance you could do up the ties on the back of this thing for me? I can't quite reach myself and the air's a little cold around the back quarter."
Trowa chuckled lightly and quickly did up the ties. "There you go."
"Thanks." Duo turned and sat on the bed while Trowa pulled the curtains back completely and then sat in the chair beside the bed. Duo swung his legs, deep in thought. "You think Heero and Quatre..."
"Duo," Trowa cut the pregnant man off. "Heero said he would do all he could to keep Quatre safe. Quatre isn't as helpless as he would have us all believe either. He's one astute businessman and has a silver tongue when he wants. I have faith in his abilities and so should you in Heero's."
"I do," protested Duo. "I just want him here though. Trowa... I know this is going to sound awful and I love Quat, really I do, but why does it have to be Heero to go in there?"
"Oh, Duo. Trowa stood up and sat next to the long haired man on the bed. He draped an arm over Duo's shoulders. "I know you care about Quatre but it is only natural that you should be feeling some resentment. I wish that Heero didn't have to go in there either. I agree, he should be here with you and it should be me that is in that building with Wufei advancing on those terrorists, but unfortunately it isn't possible. I guess we're just both going to have to trust our husbands to make the right decisions and come back to us safe and sound."
Duo sighed and rested his head against Trowa's shoulder. Trowa was right, Duo knew that and until both their husbands were safe they would simply have to accept the situation.
"How about I put on the television and see if there's any updates at all?" said Trowa softly as he rubbed Duo's back.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," replied Duo.
Outside in the hall way, Sally's 'phone began to ring, Sally pulled it from her belt and answered it. "Sally Po."
Une's voice came down the line asking after Duo.
"Duo is here at the hospital and safe. I'm going to do a preliminary check on both him and the baby as soon as he's changed. Depending on the child's condition and the contractions I hope to be able to stop them and hold off on the delivery until Heero is able to finish the mission and get back here."
Sally listened for a few moments to what Une was saying, her brow furrowing as she received the updated information on the terrorists. "They sound like a really friendly mob," said Sally sarcastically. "What's the latest from Wufei and Heero?"
Again Sally listened as Une filled her in. "Hopefully all this will be at an end then very soon," she said softly. "Okay, I'll let Trowa and Duo know. Contact me as soon as you have anything further, I'll also be in touch to update you on Duo's condition once I've had the chance to run the tests. Good luck, Une." Sally cut the call and placed the cell 'phone back on her belt.
"Any news?" asked Nurse Brown.
Sally relayed the information Une had given her on Jackson, Devlin's attempt to negotiate with the terrorist as well as Heero and Wufei's current position.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed that all this is ended and soon. Meanwhile we have a young man in there that needs our attention. By the way, where's Doctor G?" said the nurse.
"I told him I would call for him if and when I needed his assistance. I figured that Duo doesn't really need him around at this stage and if all goes well we shouldn't need him until the C-section, if at all."
"That's probably a good idea. The less stress on that young man at the moment, the better."
"How right you are. Come on, let's see what we can do about these contractions." Sally turned and knocked on the door. "Duo? Okay if we come back in now?"
"Sure," came the reply.
Sally and Nurse Brown stepped back into the room, Trowa moved off the bed to allow Duo to lie down as Sally stepped up to examine the pregnant man. Nurse Brown brought the blood pressure unit across and then the ultra sound unit. Sally wrapped the cuff around Duo's upper arm and proceeded to record his blood pressure while the nurse fetched the gel and switched on the ultra sound machine.
"Blood pressure is a little high but that is to be expected under the circumstances. I don't want it to go any higher though. Now, let us see what's going on inside." Sally lifted Duo's gown and pushed his boxers down a little so she could spread the gel over his abdomen. Picking up the sound head, she placed it on Duo's belly and began to move it around. Twiddling a few of the knobs on the machine, Sally brought the screen into focus and then searched around for the baby's position.
The lines on the screen condensed to form the outline of the child inside. Sally swallowed as she scanned around, noting the position of the child and Duo's stressed organs. "Damn!" she muttered under her breath.
"What is it?" asked Duo, his voice full of concern.
"The baby has turned completely and is head down, ready in the birth position."
"Only it can't come out the usual way," whispered Duo.
"No, it can't. We need to stop these contractions now. Margaret?"
"Yes?"
"Get me a fetal monitor as quickly as you can, I want to see if this baby is under any stress. I'll go get the drugs we need to stop these contractions."
"Right on it," replied the nurse as she left the room, her legs carrying her away as fast as she dared to go without running.
"Duo, I'm going to the dispensary to fetch the drugs I'll need to try and halt this labor of yours. I won't be long, okay?"
"Okay, Sally," replied Duo, his face looking worried.
"I'll watch him," said Trowa as he stepped up to the side of the bed again.
"I'll be as quick as I can," said Sally as she replaced the sound head and left the room.
A few minutes passed and Nurse Brown returned with a small monitor in her hand. "I'm going to strap this to your belly, Duo," said the nurse. "It will keep track of your baby's heart rate so we can tell if it starts to get stressed at all and take evasive action."
"Okay." Duo shifted a little so the nurse could buckle the device around him. Once it was done up and in place, the nurse turned the device on and watched the small screen. "What does it say?" asked Duo as he watched the nurse's face for any sign of something being amiss.
"One hundred and twenty five beats a minute," replied the nurse.
"That high?"
"Not overly so but it needs to be watched. If it starts going up too much more then we will need to do something quickly and avoid any harm to the child," replied the nurse.
Sally entered the room then with a syringe and bottle in one hand, bag of saline and intravenous equipment in the other. She passed the bag and other instruments to the nurse. "Can you hook that drip up into Duo for me please? I'll give him this shot now and then we can top him up as necessary through the drip."
Nurse Brown took the items and nodded. She proceeded to raise the vein on Duo's arm and slip the needle in before hooking up the IV to the canula. Once done she checked the flow rate, adjusted it slightly and then gave a satisfied smile.
Sally injected the drug into Duo's system and wiped the site with an alcohol swab. Putting the needle into the sharps container she turned back to Duo and checked the fetal heart monitor. "Now all we can do is wait for the drug to do its job."
~ * ~
tbc.........