Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Devil's Due ❯ - 44 - ( Chapter 44 )

— 44 —

February 17, A.C. 205. Weis, Austria. 1 am

“Thank you for your assistance, Sir,” Judas muttered, formally saluting the colonel. “We should be fine from here.”

They’d decided that having the man stay with them risked Holt finding out Judas was an agent and hunting down Victor and the rest for retribution.

“Of course, Ifherra,” the man returned, saluting in return and briefly shaking Alek’s hand. “Have a safe flight.”

Judas nodded, watching as the man turned and walked away at a brisk pace.

“I have never been so terrified in my life,” Alek informed Judas seriously.

“What?” Judas asked him blankly.

“You had me in a military compound!” Alek retorted, giving him a disbelieving look. “If you hadn’t forgotten, we’ve spent the last several months…”

“Shh,” Judas ordered him, nonplussed.

Alek looked away.

“Here,” Judas added, pulling out an envelope from his jacket and digging through it. He pulled out a handful of bills and offered them to the man. “This should cover your flight and your car.”

Alek frowned, taking the money and looking up to him in confusion.

“I told you I’d get you a ticket here, but I’m not going to make you go anywhere…you can choose your own destination.” He leaned forward and hugged the guy briefly. “Try to get out of this life-style,” he suggested. “You can get a real job…it’s not like you’re addicted to drugs or something stupid like that.”

“Where are you going?” Alek muttered, considering him with interest.

“Inado,” Judas returned, turning to look around the port. “Inado California. It’s where I base out of.”

“How much will that cost?” Alek asked, tagging along as he started up the walk.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Judas shrugged. “I can just use my card to get the flight and my superior will pay it for me.”

It was strange to be able to talk freely about that. It was weird to think that Alek knew exactly where he was going and who he was. After they’d left their hotel, Judas had waved down a taxi and told them to take him to the I.E.C. compound…and then he’d had to do some fast-talking to get Alek into the safe zone with him. They’d taken rooms initially to nap in, since they’d had a late night and hadn’t gotten much sleep, then they’d eaten before Judas started getting the guys to go look through the city for their pursuers. Nothing had been reported as a disturbance, and the colonel had flooded the airport with soldiers…more like saturated it. He’d send in one or two at a time…as many as six, it had taken a while, but the soldiers were set up all over the port with the specific aim of keeping Judas and Alek alive if some sharpshooter happened to find them.

They moved up to the counter as a smiling receptionist greeted Judas…and Alek leaned against the desk next to his friend as he wondered if he’d be able to pull it off or not.

He’d said he’d follow. He intended to follow…and it was made that much more plausible when the woman noted the flight Judas was booking still had several seats if they needed two…which Judas denied.

Alek grinned slightly at that.

“All right,” Judas muttered, leaning over to hug Alek again. “Take care of yourself…I’ll try to call you if I’m in the area again…keep your head low so no one shoots you, right? Tell Vic and them I’m sorry, too.”

Alek nodded, hugging him again and watching him walk away.

“How can I help you?” the woman asked him happily.

“I need one of those seats on that flight,” Alek returned, pointing after his friend.

She gave him a confused sort of look, but accepted the words without comment.

- -

The forty minutes before the flight left were quiet for Judas. He was unsettled by leaving Alek like that, even with the extra security around the port, and the fact that the guy hadn’t seemed to really care they were separating bugged him, too.

Not to mention that he was going home…for real. He didn’t have to go back to Germany or Austria…Switzerland…none of the places he’d been in for the past six months…at least, not for this mission, anyway. He wasn’t sure what his superior intended to do with him in the future, but the idea of staying on base with his comrades was highly appealing…not having to pretend was highly appealing.

He shook his head, pulling out his laptop and booting it up. He needed to write up his report and the reasoning behind him using the resources of Weis for himself and a civilian. He typed up the report carefully, being sure to note the specific danger to Alek.

He was going to miss his friend, really…it was strange to think of him not being there, and sad to think what might happen since his life in Germany wasn’t all that happy.

“Good morning!” a bright-eyed flight-attendant gushed at them, his smile indicating that he knew his chipper humor wouldn’t be all that appreciated. “Welcome to Ion Air! We’re so glad you could make it to this lovely morning flight with us, and we assure you that we won’t be bouncing up and down the isles.”

That got a titter.

“Right now I’d like to board all priority passengers…and that means if your ticket has a blue line like this…” he turned a boarding pass to show them all the diagonal line, “then you need to come line up right here.” He pointed in front of himself.

Judas moved tiredly forward with the few other people who had the priority setting.

“I’d like to remind our passengers that we have an open seating policy, and we will be boarding the first group after we get the priority fliers settled in. You can begin lining up here, if you would…please have your boarding pass ready…thank you,” he added to the older gentlemen Judas had allowed to cut. “Thank you,” he added, taking Judas’ ticket.

Judas actually hoped he wasn’t going to be so bright eyed and chipper the entire flight. That would be disgusting…. “Easy there, old timer,” he cautioned, moving to help the older man as he tottered.

“Old timer,” the guy grumbled. “When I was your age…”

“You’d be the same rude jackass as me,” Judas retorted. The guy might not be happy about it, but he was letting Judas support him. “And when I’m old and tottering and some young buck helps me, I’ll tell him he’s an ass, too.”

The man grinned at that.

“It’s the cycle of these things,” Judas went on happily as they moved onto the plane. “The youth don’t understand how to show respect until they’re old, and the fact that the youth still don’t understand how it works flies like a lead brick.”

The man smiled openly at that one.

Judas grinned at him, looking the plane over. “Where would you like to sit?”

“Here in front,” the man muttered, taking his own weight and offering his carry-on to Judas to stow.

Judas was knocked slightly forward, and turned to look at the woman who’d shoved into him before rolling his eyes as another person passed behind him, then focused on shoving the bag up. After he’d finished that, he took his own carry-on and shoved it under the seat next to the old man, sitting down and looking at him. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“Do you know, you look an awfully lot like my grandson?” the man noted pleasantly. “I’m going to see him right now. He’s in London, says he’ll show an old man the sights.”

“Sounds like fun,” Judas noted, shifting down in his seat. “I’ve never been to London.”

“Me neither, figured I should go before my knees give up on me entirely,” the man rubbed at one leg. “I’m tired, son…never get old.”

“I’m tired,” Judas noted, grinning at him. “I think I’ll end up leaving a beautiful corpse, anyway.”

“As long as you make it worth your time,” the man agreed, laughing slightly. “Just be sure it’s worth it, and you won’t regret it in the end.”

- -

February 16, A.C. 205. Airport. 9 pm

Watching Judas move from the gates was something like watching a returning hero. He had a bag over one shoulder, and the gait of a confident man on a mission. His eyes moved to the group instantly…and he smiled.

“Jude!” Riley squeaked, darting forward with Danielle on her heels.

The man was laughing as he dropped his bag to catch the first female, and he turned just enough so Danielle could jump on him as well.

Jordan snorted, grinning at Xane briefly…as Xane’s eyes flashed wickedly and he also ran forward…and jumped at the man.

Judas, it seemed, was expecting that, and had dropped both Rile and Danielle a moment before Xane jumped on him. The man was still laughing as he spun to dissipate Xane’s motion–Xane had been trying to knock him over–and completely controlled his friend’s motion to toss him…at a passer-by.

Alek.

Jordan stepped forward in disbelief as Judas himself froze.

“I’m sorry!” Xane was still laughing as he apologized to the other…then noticed the aire around him. He turned to look at Judas.

“Hi,” Alek muttered to him, studying his eyes.

“Ifherra!” Jordan snapped, moving forward as the girls looked to him with mildly alarmed expressions. He wasn’t really bothered by it, but he wanted to impress on the man thoroughly that he was the superior.

“I didn’t do it!” Judas protested instantly, turning to focus on Jordan and look back to the other. “What are you doing here?” he added.

“I told you I was going with you,” Alek returned in German. “I told you I meant it and I would. You didn’t give me a good enough reason not to.”

“What the hell?” Jordan demanded of the spy, giving him an irritated sort of look.

“I didn’t!” Judas persisted, turning to look at him. “It wasn’t…I…Jor…”

Jordan knew that Judas had not been aware of the man’s presence, he was too genuinely shocked for it to be an act.

“Hi,” Alek added to Jordan happily, extending a hand. “Nice to see you again.”

“I said you need to go home,” Judas protested at the man in disbelief. “I have no where for you to stay here! I have…I can’t take you on base!”

Alek looked back to him with a mildly upset expression, then looked around to Xane and the girls.

“How did you get here?” Jordan asked the man, considering his eyes.

“I flew,” the guy noted wryly, then tilted his head slightly. “You’re his superior?”

“I am,” Jordan agreed, still studying his face.

“I followed him,” Alek noted easily. “He couldn’t help it…I didn’t let him see me.”

“Alek,” Judas moved back in front of him. “I can’t…I have no where…I…” he gestured around vaguely.

“Hi,” Xane bounced forward to offer his hand. “I’m Xane.”

“We all just call him Mouthy,” Danielle noted happily, moving in to offer her own hand. “I’m Danielle…and that’s all I’m called.”

“I’m Riley,” Riley added happily. “How did you get through customs already?”

“I…was sort of flying with him,” Judas noted happily, indicating Judas. “He got his ticket and walked off and I just told the woman I wanted the same one…so we were listed somewhat together.”

“I think that’s illegal,” Jordan noted, considering him happily.

Judas ran a hand down his face, obviously thinking fast.

“Calm down,” Jordan suggested, patting the guy’s back before pulling him into a brief hug. “You’re home now, and he said he did it himself. It’s his problem to find somewhere to stay and we can all be nice friends and help him.”

“Meaning he’ll have you a place by lunch tomorrow,” Xane quipped, smiling at Alek. “No worries, but you’ll have to find your own job to pay for it.”

Alek grinned at him, looking back to Judas.

“I’m just…I…” Judas ran his hand down his face again, then laughed and moved forward to hug the guy. “Ass.”

Alek hugged him back, then shifted back to look abashedly at Jordan.

“Let’s go get your luggage,” Jordan suggested, looking to his watch. “Rau’ll be coming in…in like an hour, if that. We can get your buddy a guest pass for the night…we’re having a party anyway. We can get a bite to eat, then gather Raul. Don’t worry about this tonight,” he added, indicating the man. “We can figure it out tomorrow.”