Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Devil's Due ❯ - 45 - ( Chapter 45 )

— 45 —

February 19, A.C. 205. Remington, California, United States. 9 am

“Thank you,” Aleksander muttered, shaking hands with the man who had just hired him. “Thank you very much.”

“I look forward to working with you,” the guy returned, smiling pleasantly at him. “As long as you start learning English, we’ll work together just fine.”

“Of course, of course,” Alek agreed in English, nodding his agreement. He turned and moved from the room, feeling a bounce in his step.

“Well?” Judas asked…moving from the shadows.

Alek jumped hard, then smacked him as he started laughing. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“I was standing right there,” Judas protested, still sniggering. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Alek laughed more, hitting him again. “You’re so damn annoying…”

“So what did he say?” Judas persisted.

“He said that I can start next Monday,” Alek returned, bouncing. “He says that as long as I start learning English it should be fine.”

“Kick ass,” Judas congratulated him. “So you can hang out at my place for a week with my laptop while I play soldier boy.”

“I thought you said you couldn’t have me on base,” Alek protested.

“I can do anything Jordan lets me do,” Judas smirked. “On this base, there are three people who can tell him no, and two of them are too scared of what the others of the group will do if you piss them off to say much of anything. The other kinda has to deal with them.”

“But isn’t this one of the highest bases?” Alek asked in confusion. “I thought it had some of the highest ranking…”

“It does,” Judas agreed, smirking more.

Alek stopped, focusing on him in disbelief.

“Let’s go,” Judas added. “We have to swing by and pick up Mouthy from the Rest.”

“Did you just say that right?” Alek asked curiously. “Don’t you mean vacation?”

Judas sniggered, realizing he’d actually translated the term. “No…I meant it in English. It’s ‘the Rest’,” he said it in the correct language that time. “It’s a charity mission run out of Lower Angels.”

Alek gave him another look.

Judas sniggered more, patting the man on the back. “I promise it makes sense…really.”

“Right,” Alek returned, shaking his head.

Judas laughed, using the button to unlock his car as they neared it. “You followed me, huh? You can’t blame me.”

…Alek didn’t have much to say about that.

- -

February 19, A.C. 205. Lower Angels. 9 am

Xane ran his hands nervously through his hair as he stood near the windows of the Rest. Judas had said he’d pick him up between eight and nine, so they could get back to base and start running with Simone, Trent, and Max. He’d gotten a ride to the Rest with Jordan the previous night and had stayed with a…friend. He’d claimed, anyway, that he’d arranged a rendezvous with someone for a distraction, and Jor hadn’t even batted an eye. He’d gone deep into the slums and had sold the gun…he’d sold the evidence…to some random man who probably didn’t need the damn thing…or shouldn’t have had it, anyway. After that, he’d gone in and found just some guy…he hadn’t mattered in the slightest…and had a damn fast and hard night.

He still couldn’t forget. His playmate had helped for the night, and hadn’t been awake when he’d left…but as soon as he was alone he was back to the nerves.

If he kept this up, he’d have to admit to Jordan what’d happened, and who knew what Jor would do then. He didn’t know who he’d sold the weapon to; he’d made damn sure not to be in his right mind when he did it…but the scandal he’d created…if anyone realized…

He had to get rid of the notebook…but dropping that in Angels didn’t appeal…something about a fire…maybe a burn bag. Jordan had burn bags, didn’t he? That was an un-cross-able line, right?

Or was that just in the movies?

Xane ran his hands through his hair again.

“You okay?”

Xane turned to see the man he’d ordered to help Jordan before studying him and flashed him a grin. “I’m tired.”

“You’re here awfully early,” the man agreed, moving forward to study him. “You working today?”

“No, actually,” Xane returned, looking back out the window. “I’m waiting for my ride. It’s easier to just meet up here.”

“Ah,” the guy nodded, looking out the window a moment before tapping his fingers on the glass with a slight smile.

“What?” Xane asked, studying him with interest.

“Bullet-proof,” the guy returned, pointing at a sign on the wall. “You heard, didn’t you?”

“About what?” Xane asked, moving to blink at the thing…an honorary plaque for the Winner family’s donation?

Oh…the nephew…

“Yeah,” Xane muttered, shaking his head. “Sorry, I’m tired.”

“You sleep last night?” the guy asked in amusement.

“I had a good hour or so,” Xane agreed, flashing him a slight smirk.

He got rolled eyes for it and the man patted him on the back. “I’ll catch you around, Featihl.”

“Please don’t say that,” Xane muttered dryly. “I haven’t had good experiences with being caught.”

That got him a startled look before the man grinned and nodded, then turned and walked away.

Xane rubbed his arms, looking back out the window.

He didn’t like the emotional turmoil…it brought up stuff he’d buried…he hadn’t had a flash back to the previous year in six months. The man’s comment had brought to mind the moment Corringer had started hitting him as he sat helpless and handcuffed in a chair.

The memory had made him go cold.

He saw Judas’ car slide into the lot and sighed in relief on more than one level. Judas’ presence meant two things. It meant he could get the hell out of there and he had back-up. He moved outside, barely moving the door as he did so and slid into the car without letting Judas stop. They were pulling out of the drive-way in seconds as Alek stared at Xane in disbelief.

“What?” Xane asked.

“When Judas said we were swinging by to get you, I didn’t realize he meant it literally.”

Xane snorted, buckling.

“I didn’t mean it literally,” Judas informed them both, giving Xane a curious look. “Any particular reason for melting?”

“I just had a lovely flash-back of Corringer beating the shit out of me. If you wanna break a few street laws I’m not going to really protest. I’d really like to be with my superior right now.”

“Ooh, I thought you had that repressed,” Judas muttered, swinging into traffic and picking up speed. “Alek, we call that an ‘oh shit’ bar,” he pointed at the thing. “That’s a good place to start your English lessons, because by the time we get back to base you’ll be able to say it perfectly.”

“Teach him ‘fuck’,” Xane suggested, dropping his head backwards. “It’ll come in much more useful.”

- -

February 19, A.C. 205. Base. 9:30 am

Jordan looked up in interest, then tilted his head at Judas and Alek as they moved into the house. “Good morning…did you miss your interview?”

Of course, that was about when he realized Alek’s eyes were the size of saucers.

“Fuck,” Alek informed him.

Xane started laughing weakly, moving around the pair to slide up beside Jordan.

“He got the job as long as he starts learning English,” Judas noted happily. “Then we swung by the Rest to get Mouthy…and he sorta melted into my car.”

“What’s wrong?” Jor asked in concern, looking down at him.

“I had this wonderful flashback,” Xane explained, relaxing against the man. “Hands behind my back and a bastard taking a swing.”

“Mm,” Jordan focused on his face better. “You okay?”

“I’m just…kinda cold,” Xane returned, sighing slightly.

“You want some hot cocoa?” Chai asked, moving from the kitchen and smiling slightly at Alek.

“Hi,” he muttered to her in English, waving slightly in response. He was taken with the dark-haired woman, but Jordan was scary. He’d decided immediately after seeing her that he’d be nice to her and keep his head out of the noose.

“No thanks,” Xane returned, sighing and relaxing more into the couch. “I should be okay in a few minutes.”

She smiled and brushed a hand over his head before turning and disappearing back into the kitchen.

“That’s good,” Jordan noted, grinning slightly at him. “I need you to take Trent into Angels and try to keep away from Judas and Simone.”

“Quatre’s not going to like that much,” Judas protested, moving around to sit beside his friend and gesture at the armchair for Alek to sit. He switched to German to be polite. “Quatre’s not going to be happy that I’m running around with her.”

“He won’t know until you’re back,” Jordan reassured him, glancing toward the empath’s bedroom. “We’re meeting at the main building here in a while…and I’m getting Raul to take Max to interrupt you two…you okay, Mouthy?”

“I...yeah,” Xane returned tiredly.

“How many laws did you break?” he added to Judas, considering the time-frame he’d originally been given by his men.

“You honestly think I’ll answer that truthfully?” Judas returned in mock amazement.

Jordan grinned, then pointed at Alek. “I’m going to buddy you up with Allul. He’s taken some interest in the matter.”

“What?” Alek asked blankly.

Jordan studied him in high amusement for a moment, then tilted his head. “Some day I’m going to say something to you, and your first response isn’t going to be ‘what’, do you know that?”

“Haha,” Alek retorted, almost rolling his eyes.

“Allul,” Jordan clarified. “I’m sure you can understand that’s a person, and male since I said ‘he’. He’s taken interest in the fact that you stalked my guy over three countries and an ocean…the fact that you’re trying to find a job to stay here…the fact that you don’t care he’s a spy and used you for the last two or three months to gain rank in a dirty arms organization…and I’m sure the fact that you want to learn English will just catch him just that much more. He’s also Chance’s second. I talked to Chance,” he added, looking to Judas. “He’s agreed to let the two of them run around a couple hours every day…with the specific aim,” he added, looking back to Alek, “of teaching you English.”

“All right,” Alek agreed somewhat nervously.

“Let’s head down to the main,” Jor added, rising to his feet and tousling Xane’s hair. “If you’re ready.”

Xane studied him a long moment, then nodded and pushed his way up.

“Okay,” he gestured at Judas, then moved into the kitchen. “I’ll be back within the hour,” he noted to his wife, kissing her. “I love you, huh?”

“Okay,” she returned, kissing him again. “I love you, too.”

He smiled at her, stealing the graham cracker she was eating and bouncing out of her arm’s reach as she protested after him. The others were already out the door, so he darted after them, starting to laugh as his wife chased after him. He jumped from the top of the porch to the path as his men turned to give him confused looks as they slid into the car.

“Jordan!” Chai protested in a squeak from the porch, stomping her foot.

“I love you!” he replied instantly, grinning wickedly at her before turning and diving into Judas’ car. “Go!”

“What did you do?” Judas demanded as he threw his car into reverse.

“I stole her graham cracker,” he returned happily as she stopped on the sidewalk with her hands on her hips.

They all turned to look at him as Judas stopped abruptly.

Chai started laughing, turning to Shin, who was moving toward the other woman with Chip skipping along behind her. Jordan’s wife was still laughing as she turned and waved at the car, then turned and moved quickly across the grass with Shin behind her as Chip looked after Judas’ car with interest.

Jordan waved out the back window at the boy…who beamed and waved back before darting up to the house.