Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Devil's Due ❯ - 36 - ( Chapter 36 )

— 36 —

February 10, A.C. 205. Prague, Czech Republic. 4:10 pm

"Who...was that?" Aleksander demanded, staring into Judas' face.

"No one," Judas returned, tucking the phone away as he studied his friend.

"You were speaking English...fluently," the man noted.

"What did you hear?" Judas returned.

"You reported the time you killed him," Alek returned, still staring into Judas' face.

Judas crossed his arms, raising his eyebrows.

"You were only speaking English."

The other studied him with interest a long moment, then shook his head. "You don't want to get involved."

The words seemed to be a release, which triggered Alek crossing his own arms and looking away to the ground.

"Just pretend you never heard it," Judas suggested. "It'll be a lot less complicated that way."

"I don't understand," Alek protested, looking up to him again.

"You don't need to," Judas informed him pointedly. "I don't want to kill you."

The words hung heavily in the air as the German male stared at him in confusion, then laughed.

Judas smirked himself and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Come on, already."

"Dead?"

"Hm?" Judas turned back to him, studying his expression with interest.

Alek studied him a long moment, then leaned against the wall, looking away. "You're...you're not going to get us killed, are you?" he asked, looking back to his friend's face. "Victor has a family and Kiel has his girl..."

Judas stopped, meeting his eyes again.

Alek looked away.

"Let's go," Judas ordered quietly. "Nothing happened here."

- -

February 9, A.C. 205. Base. 12 pm

"Sorry," Danielle muttered, sliding into the seat next to Jordan as he sat with Chance in the Canteen. "I tried damn hard to get this on time and stuff," she set a file in front of him.

Jordan studied that a moment, then looked up at the girl in amazement.

"I sat there and threw about ten fits before threatening to arrest them...and that just made them all disappear for ‘authorization'," she made air-quotes, then smiled sweetly at him. "So I just...took it."

Chance started laughing wickedly.

"I left your orders there in the spot," she added happily. "I'm relying on you from keeping me out of trouble, Lieutenant General Maxwell."

Jordan wanted to respond to the implied humor, but something about the file in front of him was interrupting that. He reached his arm around her and pulled her to him in a sort of hug, then, still holding her, opened the page.

"Jordan," Chance snapped irritably, closing it quickly. "If that's his full file that means that no one is supposed to see it at all...including me. This one could explode, don't pull us all down with you."

Jordan blinked at his friend a moment...and the seriousness in the other's face made him actually realize what Danielle had done. He looked back to the folder a long moment, then took it and scooped it neatly into his briefcase.

"You have that authority," Danielle reminded them both, looking between them. "There are about ten people with any rank above you. You can get these files like this."

"With the permission of Une," Chance noted, raising an eyebrow. "On top of that, I'm the leader of the officer's club, so I actually have to think about these things."

Danielle sighed and folded forward. "I couldn't arrest them. They were all throwing logic at me. I started the recital and they kept cutting me off and scurried to find Une. I'd exceeded my hour limit, so I just...did it. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," Jordan reassured her, snapping the briefcase securely. "I don't think Une will have my head for this."

"Might take your balls, though," Chance noted dryly, looking back to his cup. "I hope your girl's pregnant, Duo, because you might damn well get screwed."

"Don't call me that," Jordan returned. "You know what my name is, Heero, and it's not Duo."

Chance smirked at that and took another drink before looking back to his watch. "I have to go gather Cat's team. I'll get back to you guy's later. Be careful with that file," he added, pointing at Jordan pointedly.

"I know," Jordan reassured him, then watched him walk away and looked back to his girl.

"Should I not have?"

"Its fine," Jordan reassured her quietly, rubbing her back again. "You got those files delivered, right?"

"Yeah, and put Une's load in with your stuff. What else are we doing today?"

"I'm gonna go gather those up and go home," he noted, kissing her forehead. "I'll call you if I need you, all right? I'll probably end up at the Rest here in an hour or two anyway. We need to get those windows replaced."

"All right," she muttered, sliding out and stepping aside for him. "Call me when you're getting ready so I can be ready, too."

"It's the rest," he reminded her, smiling gently. "You're not required to go just because I'm there."

She smiled slightly at that, watching as he started away. "Just let me know, huh, Maxwell?"

He turned to look at her, realizing she was saluting him and returned the respect before starting from the room.

He had some good people.

Hopefully he'd trained them well enough that they wouldn't die in the course of their duties. That'd be heartbreaking.

- -

February 9, A.C. 205. Base. 1 pm

"You awake yet?" Chai asked sweetly, moving into her bedroom to study her brother happily.

"You have no idea how nice it is to wake up to you," Nick returned, studying her. "I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Of course not," she retorted, sliding up next to him on the mattress. "Jor would have chased you off if you were an issue, not into the room."

He smiled slightly at that.

"I'm gonna go check on Richard," Chai added, touching his hair affectionately. "You should probably get up and eat, though."

"Food is for pussies," Nick retorted, curling in a ball the opposite direction.

"So is sleep," Chai retorted, kicking the bed as she started away. "Go shower your stinky ass and borrow something of Jor's so I can wash your shit. What are you even on?"

"Nothing, now," he noted, curling even more into his ball. "I ran out of money."

"If you were coming to ask me for money, I'm going to be pissed at you," she noted, stopping in the door to the room. "You understand that, don't you?"

"No shit?" he gave her an irritated look over his shoulder. "I wanted you to make it all stop...thanks."

"I'm not doing anything," she pointed out. "Quatre gave you a necklace."

He stopped, turning to look at her again.

"You remember that, don't you? Quatre says you're an empath."

Nick stared at her, trying to remember the previous day.

She made a disgusted noise and gestured at him. "I have chocolate, we'll get you laid. You're not addicted to anything, are you?"

"Like I paid enough attention to tell the difference," he retorted, dropping back onto the pillow. "Chia?"

Chai stopped again, turning to look at him.

"Am I...really?"

She smiled slightly at that, then nodded.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Get up," she repeated her order, then slid from her bedroom to go check on Richard.

- -

February 10, A.C. 205. Fuzhou, China. 6 am

Xane jumped hard, moving across the bed for his weapons as his mind noted it was an alarm. He stopped at the foot of the bed, looking around as he tried to catch his breath and Chao blinked at him in confusion.

"You okay?" the blond asked blankly, sitting up and looking at the face of his phone. "Fuck..."

"What the hell?" Xane demanded, blinking at the male in confusion as his heart started to settle again.

"Jumpy much?" Chao teased, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed with that smile that no one else got to see. "You don't work today, remember?"

"That would be why I'm not getting dressed," Xane retorted, settling to sit properly and frown at the male. He wasn't intending to inform the guy that if his mind hadn't placed the sound he'd have been fairly well armed in about three seconds. "What's that on for?"

"I have to go make sure everything is running smoothly across the river," Chao explained, standing slowly and yawning. He hesitated a moment, then looked back to Xane. "You gonna be okay without me?"

"I'll die every minute you're away," Xane retorted, moving to drop back into the mattress. "Or something."

"You're mean to me," Chao noted happily, moving into the bathroom. "You know that, don't you?"

"You like it, or I wouldn't be here," Xane retorted.

"I don't just like it," Chao muttered, moving back to straddle him and start kissing at him. "I thrive with it."

Xane sniggered, relaxing back into the mattress, accepting those kisses.

It took until they'd finished and Chao had showered for Xane to remember why he felt so melancholy. Life with Chao was sweet and pleasant, easy. He didn't have to worry about anything and could chase those pleasures from moment to moment without worrying about bills or gas money. He didn't even have to keep in contact with his family...but it had been a week already. That meant there was only a week left.

He exchanged a goodbye kiss with the blond, then watched him leave the room; he had a bounce in his step, and was probably going to have a very good day...

It was sad.

Xane rolled onto his back and focused on the ceiling. Over the remaining week he needed to convince the guy that it was okay for him to leave, somehow...and then he'd have to go back to his life as a spy...back to the base where he'd broken up with the man he'd been with for years...back to being the second of a hero and manipulating everyone around him.

The thing that really bothered him, though, was how attached he really was to Chaoxiang. Chao was probably one of the evilest men he'd ever met, but when it was just the two of them...

He sighed and rolled out of the bed, heading for the shower.

It was better not to dwell over the spilled milk, just clean it up and keep it from stinking.

- -

February 10, A.C. 205. Fuzhou, China. 9 am

Riley watched a blond man moving to the front of a high-rise apartment building, smiling happily as he went. He had his hands in his pockets, and his smile was winning...and if what Jordan had said was true, and she had no reason to doubt it, that was Xane's boyfriend.

She considered the man's blond hair in confusion as she ran his stats over in her mind. His parents both had very authentic Chinese names, and his own did not give one the impression that he was a natural blond. Jor had noted that to her, of course, but she'd thought it was a bleach job or something...but not by looking at him.

Interesting.

She looked back to the building, wondering if Xane could tell she was there or not. She'd gathered from Quatre that he could sense people he had connections with, but he was an empath. Xane wasn't, but it was interesting to wonder...

She smiled almost coyly as the man met her eyes–and smirked. He looked her over from head to foot, then gestured with his head toward the building in question.

Riley flashed him a grin, then turned with a wave of her hair and started off down the sidewalk.

His laughter, which followed after her happily, was pleased and slightly naughty.

Xane probably had a damn lot of fun with him.

She turned a corner, and started back for her hotel.

- -

February 9, A.C. 205. Base. 7pm

Jordan sighed as he sat heavily on the couch with his plate of steaming hot food, happy to be home again. The run-around of figuring out the windows and bits of facing had been annoying enough without the media pouncing on them again since the Winner Corporation was financing the rebuild.

"I bet I'm more tired than you with less reason," Richard muttered happily from where he was sitting in an armchair.

"And you're proud of that?" Jordan asked happily, smiling briefly at him.

"Not really, but it seemed like something to say," the kid shrugged, taking another bite. "It's weird. I'm absolutely starving, but having a hard time keeping awake."

"It's your dose," Jordan reassured him. "You're taking a little more than normal so your body wants you to sleep so it can do what it's being prodded to...but it's also using the resources you had...it's one of the fun side-effects of Remalene."

"Mm," Richard took another bite, chewing it slowly as he sighed. "It tastes good, does that count?"

"My wife figured out how to cook," Jordan reassured him.

"One of the downfalls of being rich," Nick noted, "is that your maid probably doesn't love you as much as say...your mom...or sister...or wife."

That made Richard stop and focus on him in confusion.

"I'm just saying," Nick noted, he was sitting in the far corner of the couch. "Chai doesn't cook much, but she's good at what she does."

"My mom cooks for us," Richard protested. He was too tired to just let the comment pass. "She's cooked for us always."

Nick blinked at him.

"Just because we have money doesn't mean we waste it," Quatre spat irritably at the man instead, rising to his feet and moving toward the kitchen. "Don't worry, though, I'd have hired a maid if I didn't have someone to cook for me...I'm the family patriarch and I can throw the money like that."

"Maybe you should throw it at a cause," Nick retorted.

"Because I'm not financing the Rest," Quatre agreed bitterly. "I don't have college funds set up for the poor folk, and I sure as hell don't have a fucking orphanage set up anywhere, right? Jesus..."

He'd disappeared as he spoke, and Jor could hear Chai talking quietly to him in the kitchen.

"You believe that shit?" Nick half muttered to Jordan, rolling his eyes as he focused on eating.

"Yes," Jordan returned, nonplussed. "If you're going to bitch about rich verses poor, then aim it at me and your sister."

The guy stopped and met his eyes.

"I have the money that I'm wasting," Jordan explained, still giving him a calm look. "I am the one who'd hire the maid and I'm not putting that much into the Rest. Don't be an ass, get a fucking job."

Nick gave him a normal sort of ‘fuck you' look and went back to eating.

Jordan looked back to Richard, who hadn't gone back to his food, then smiled slightly at him and rolled his eyes.

It was a common complaint in Lower Angels, because it was never their own fault they were there. The people of the slums wanted someone to reach in and pick them out because they were more special than anyone else down there and they deserved it. It didn't matter that they could go to help programs aside from the Rest...not that Jordan was going to go into it. He'd utterly refused to go to those programs for more than his own hiding. They wanted you to show up once every six months to prove that you were still as poor as you were when you started, and if you missed it, they all but pissed on you and dismissed you as just another loser...not like you were more than some loser when you were getting their help.

He sincerely hoped that the people running the Rest never got to that point...but instead of just sitting there with the money under a pillow and doling out the bills one at a time, the people of the Rest were going out and doing things...like fixing insulation and bad windows. They were checking pipes and adding insulation to those...there'd even been a few cases where they'd just outright replaced a floor. All it took to get the buildings looked at was a handful of people from them coming in and asking for it. Sure, it wasn't the fastest system in the world, but they were really helping those buildings that they did help...

"Should I go somewhere else?" Richard asked Jordan uncertainly, glancing at Nick without actually looking at him.

"No," Jordan returned easily. "Nick had his bitch-fit and he'll eat contentedly now. He just had to get that one jibe in and piss off the man who wants to help him the most...no worries for you."

Nick, however, had looked around to Jordan.

"Oh, you forget already?" Jordan asked sweetly, meeting his eyes. "You remember coming into my building and my friend giving you a necklace that does what Chai does for you? Hmm, lay off the drugs a while, huh? I think it's fucking with your head."

"Jordan," Chai snapped from the kitchen.

Jordan went back to eating. He and Nick got along fine until they came to differences of opinion. When it was something they didn't agree on, neither could get past it. They both left it to Chai to stop their sniping at one another...for all that Nick did have a sort of lost look on his face.

He'd probably just been reacting to the annoyance Jordan was putting out, as an empath. He may not have felt as seriously about the subjects as it seemed, so that loop of Jordan's annoyance creating an upset response probably...well...it could explain why they got along so well most of the time.

"I don't get you," Nick muttered, studying Jordan with interest. "You're so nice to me, then you turn around and be a dick."

"I had a damn long day at work, and you annoyed me." Jordan shrugged complacently. "Just remember that Quatre wants to help you and stop complaining about the state of your wallet compared to his...and don't pick at the kid."

"It's not my fault he doesn't get good food," Nick noted, going back to his plate.

"I'm sure he gets perfectly fine food, but he's a little drugged right now."

Nick started to open his mouth.

"Are you two really going to start this bullshit?" Chai demanded, moving into the living room with her hands on her hips.

"Of course not," Jordan reassured her placatingly as he looked to his brother-in-law. "Are we?"

"Us? Never," Nick flashed him a grin and went back to eating.

Jordan smiled at his wife.

"If you annoy me you're sleeping on the couch tonight," she reminded him pointedly.

He dropped the jackass-manner and gave her a tired look, focusing back on his food.

She sighed and moved around to touch his face affectionately, then kiss him. "We've all had a long day, let's just...finish eating and stop talking to each other."

He smiled slightly at that and kissed her back, then went back to his very good supper.