Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ ZER0 ❯ Kindness ( Chapter 8 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Vinyl-Koneko 
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Psychological / Police / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.16.2002 | Updated On: 10.14.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 389 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Gundam Wing Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Thriller / Suspense / Psychological / Police / Drama / Angst / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.16.2002 | Updated On: 10.14.2002 | Pages: 2 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 389 | Status: Completed
Title: ZER0 - Part 9 - Kindness
Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
Rating: R
Warnings: language, angst, death, blood, gruesome stuff, yaoi
Archive: Want it? Take it. Just give me credit, please.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I just like to play with them and make them play with each other.
Comments: *Emphasis*, 'thought', [flashback], /written/, //lyrics//. Kindness is the Second Heavenly Virtue and is defined as tender and benevolent affection. I am soooooo sorry that this took forever! I am totally a week behind now! I've been so tired lately with so much to do and it kills your creativity when your muses are working their asses off with research papers. Hope this is good enough!
*~**~*
April 7, 201 AC
*~**~*
Duo put away the electronic organizer[1], slipping the stylus back in its spot, snapping the case, and putting it back in the pocket of his Preventers jacket. He checked the safety on his gun for the last time, secure knowing that it was off and he wouldn't be shooting his own leg off. There was a rapid succession of knocks at the door, and Wufei rapped back. This "code knocking" had been set up a while back, just in case. Duo understood that there was no such thing as too many precautions because at this point they were paid to live, not fighting to die.
Trowa stood and Duo sat up in the plush office chair when Heero and Quatre entered, Duo glad that they were in one piece, despite the solemn expressions. Quatre had a piece of paper in his hand and gave it to Wufei, who read the first couple lines and immediately began to frown.
'Damn it. That *can't* be good.' Wufei handed it to Trowa who scanned the note with a similar expression growing on his features.
"Hey, guys? What's going on? It's not another one of those damn fan letters from our psycho-ass, is it?" Trowa mutely handed it to the former Deathscythe pilot.
/ONCE AGAiN YOU thOUGht thAt YOU hAd PREVAilEd ONlY tO hAVE fAllEN ONCE MORE. i fEEl i hAVE bEEN WAY tOO GENEROUS iN EliMiNAtiNG thOSE PEOPlE fOR YOU, bUt YOU hAd tO GO ANd lOOk A Gift hORSE iN thE MOUth, SO tO SPEAk. i dON't kNOW hOW i MANAGE tO tOlERAtE YOU BOYS, bUt i dO.
ME, bEiNG thE kiNd PERSON thAt i AM, hAVE dECidEd tO lEAVE YOU AlONE fOR thE tiME bEiNG, AlthOUGh i REAliZE thAt YOU Will NOt lEAVE ME AlONE. A littlE QUid PRO QUO SEEMS tO bE tOO MUCh tO ASk NOWAdAYS, dOESN't it? i hAVE tO APOlOGiZE fOR YOUR lACk Of hUMANitY, bUt MAYbE MY OWN hUMANitY Will MAkE UP fOR it.
SO YES, i AM NO lONGER iN PREVENtERS HEAdQUARtERS. SUCh A fiNE EStAbliShMENt. i lOVE thE AURA Of fAlSE SECURitiES it iS ShROUdEd iN. AlMOSt MAkES ME fEEl SAfE. AlMOSt. tEll UNE thAt EVEN thE GREAtESt idEAS hAVE fAilEd. AN AMAtEUR bUIlt thE ARk, bUt PROfESSiONAlS bUilt thE titANiC.
JUSt REMEMbER thAt i AM bEttER thAN All Of YOU. YOU ARE All MURdERERS. i AM A SAViOR. i GEt Rid Of thOSE WhO dON't kNOW ENOUGh tO GEt Rid Of thEMSElVES. YOUR EtERNAl PUNiShMENt Will bE tO GEt bROkEN ON A WhEEl EtERNAllY. i ShAll lAUGh At YOU fROM AbOVE AS YOU bURN.
i thiNk i hAVE tOld YOU ENOUGh. MAY GOd hAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUl./
Duo threw the note down in disgust. "I am so fucking sick of this...and I think I'm repeating myself at this point, I really do! Not to mention the fact that *now* he's saying he's better than us because he kills with purpose or some shit like that. I am *not* going to let that get to me because *I* am not a wanted criminal, so he better-" Duo stopped all of a sudden when he realized he was being given strange looks from everyone. "What!?"
Quatre looked like he was struggling to keep a grin off his face. "It's just that...well...you're ranting worse than Wufei."
Wufei crossed his arms across his chest, feigning insulted. "And doing a piss-poor job of it, if I do say so myself."
*~**~*
Duo exited the bathroom, changed into a comfortable T-shirt and sweatpants instead of the uncomfortable and confining uniform that the Preventers officers had to where day in and day out. His vision was drawn to Heero sitting on the sofa, laptop sitting on the coffee table with the note beside him. "Yanno Heero, there's no way there's a clue in every little line in that damn thing."
"You of any of us should have recognized the religious references."
"What? 'An amateur built the Ark, but professionals built the Titanic'? I don't even know what the hell the Titanic is!"
Heero pointed at the monitor. "It was a oceanliner back in the early twentieth century that was claimed to be unsinkable yet hit an iceburg and sank, resulting in the death of more than two thousand passengers and crewmen[2]."
"Aw I bet that sucked royally. But what's that have to do with Preventers?"
The Japanese man shrugged. "Maybe he thinks a less professional organization could undermine Une's operation." He handed the note over to Duo. "Maybe you can help with those." Duo looked down at the paper and noticed that some of the sentences were highlighted in yellow.
/i AM A SAViOR./
/YOUR EtERNAl PUNiShMENt Will bE tO GEt bROkEN ON A WhEEl EtERNAllY. i ShAll lAUGh At YOU fROM AbOVE AS YOU bURN./
/MAY GOd hAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUl./
He shrugged. "Doctor Dement-o thinks we're going to Hell and will be broken on a wheel for all of eternity. He might even think he will 'save' us by cleansing us of our sins, which is funny because if I recall correctly, being broken on a wheel is the punishment for pride."
[/Our pride had been getting the better of us, and that seems to be what the killer wanted./]
"Wait a minute, Heero...cleanse us of our sins..." Duo ticked off each one on his fingers. "Pride, envy..."
[Trowa shrugged in response. "Hero worship, maybe. Besides, what were *you* doing at that age?"]
"...wrath..."
["Paul Lucas was a former OZ official. There are dormant bombs in his refridgerator wrapped in tin foil and freezer bags. According to this log on the computer, he was supposed to blow up Headquarters this afternoon around 1430." Heero looked at his watch. "If it wasn't for our serial killer, the bombs would have just gone off."]
"...sloth..."
[/Shit AddS UP At thE bOttOM/]
"...greed..."
[Duo looked up in time to see Quatre going through all the closets, cabinets, and boxes he could find. "Hey, Duo...why wouldn't she give money to her own children?"
He shrugged. "Anger. Revenge. Or maybe she was a real Scrooge." Duo tilted his head. "Why? What'd you find?" Quatre tossed something in Duo's direction, and he caught it easily, eyes widening at what it was. "Quatre? This is a three inch stack of hundred dollar bills."]
"...gluttony..."
[There had been 113 people in the bar, even though it had a 100 person maximum. Twelve of those who had been killed were employees whether it was the jazz band, the bartenders, or the waitresses. The other 101 people were simply patrons who picked the wrong place at the wrong night, and now all their parts were blown all over the area.]
"...and lust."
[From Duo's reaction, Wufei didn't even look at the body and just recited off the information that had been gathered by the cop who had found the body from the neighbors' complaints of too much noise. The noise had turned out to be gay pornography that was on a repetitive play cycle. It was the last thing the victim saw before he died.
"Victim is 56-year-old David Reeves. We were only able to ID him so quickly because he was on the most-wanted criminal lists for the Alliance, OZ, and the UESN. Reeves was a sexual predator and had been linked to the kidnapping, rape, and death of nearly twenty victims, the majority of which were under the age of seven."]
Heliotropic eyes went wide in realization. "Heero..."
"The victims were killed according to the..."
"...Seven Deadly Sins," Duo finished.
"Demo what contradicts the Seven Dealdy Sins?"
Duo had to think for a moment, going back to days in his childhood that he thought were best forgotten, but they seemed to be life or death at the moment. "The Seven Heavenly Virtues, but... Ah, shit, damn it! I don't remember what they were."
Heero quickly logged onto the Internet, running a search for the Heavenly Virtues, results popping up immediately. He picked a link and waited for the list to load. "Humility, kindness, patience, diligence, liberality, abstinence, and chastity." Prussian eyes shot up from the screen to meet Duo's. "Kindness."
/ME, bEiNG thE kiNd PERSON thAt i AM, hAVE dECidEd tO lEAVE YOU AlONE fOR thE tiME bEiNG, AlthOUGh i REAliZE thAt YOU Will NOt lEAVE ME AlONE./
A chime went off on the laptop, announcing the message of an email.
/VERY GOOd, bOYS. NiCE tO kNOW thAt MY hARd WORk hASN't GONE tO WAStE. MAY i NOW diRECt YOUR AttENtiON tO thE fOllOWiNG AddRESS?
tOGEthER WE StAND StRONG
48 EMMitt StREEt
lOWER EASt MANhAttEN[3]
i'll bE SEEiNG YOU tOMORROW./
"This is unbelievable. We're being teased or something, we have to be. This isn't making sense."
Heero shut down the computer, rising slowly and popping stiff joints. "Seriel killers want to be caught, remember?"
Duo wasn't convinced. "Yeah, but this guy thinks what he's doing is all righteous and good."
"Maybe he wants us to decide that for him."
"Yeah, maybe."
Heero moved to stand behind his boyfriend, kissing the base of Duo's neck. "He'll get life if not the death sentence, so you shouldn't worry. We'll catch him. You can't worry that he'll be 'saved' by his God if you don't believe in Him anyway."
Duo leaned back into the embrace. "Hmm, I guess you're right." The American spun around, wrapping his arms around Heero's neck. "Now, do I get something special for finding the pattern?"
Heero smiled suggestively. "We'll see what we can come *up* with."
Duo moaned as his mouth was captured in his Japanese lover's, and any previous doubts were immediately abandoned for the prospect of much more enjoyable activities.
*~**~*
End Part 9
[1] Muhahaha! The earliest placed footnote EVER! Uh, anyway, think PalmPilot or something like that. Or if you're a Star Wars fan, it's a datapad. I had no idea what to call it.
[2] That was off the top of my head. Please just don't correct me if the figures are wrong. Let me try to feel smart and riddled with useless information for once.
[3] I know nothing about New York City...been there a few times, but not enough to know how the city is set up and such, so please pretend this is also correct if it isn't. Arigato!
Author: Vinyl Koneko (Emily), roguegirl@att.net
Rating: R
Warnings: language, angst, death, blood, gruesome stuff, yaoi
Archive: Want it? Take it. Just give me credit, please.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. I just like to play with them and make them play with each other.
Comments: *Emphasis*, 'thought', [flashback], /written/, //lyrics//. Kindness is the Second Heavenly Virtue and is defined as tender and benevolent affection. I am soooooo sorry that this took forever! I am totally a week behind now! I've been so tired lately with so much to do and it kills your creativity when your muses are working their asses off with research papers. Hope this is good enough!
*~**~*
April 7, 201 AC
*~**~*
Duo put away the electronic organizer[1], slipping the stylus back in its spot, snapping the case, and putting it back in the pocket of his Preventers jacket. He checked the safety on his gun for the last time, secure knowing that it was off and he wouldn't be shooting his own leg off. There was a rapid succession of knocks at the door, and Wufei rapped back. This "code knocking" had been set up a while back, just in case. Duo understood that there was no such thing as too many precautions because at this point they were paid to live, not fighting to die.
Trowa stood and Duo sat up in the plush office chair when Heero and Quatre entered, Duo glad that they were in one piece, despite the solemn expressions. Quatre had a piece of paper in his hand and gave it to Wufei, who read the first couple lines and immediately began to frown.
'Damn it. That *can't* be good.' Wufei handed it to Trowa who scanned the note with a similar expression growing on his features.
"Hey, guys? What's going on? It's not another one of those damn fan letters from our psycho-ass, is it?" Trowa mutely handed it to the former Deathscythe pilot.
/ONCE AGAiN YOU thOUGht thAt YOU hAd PREVAilEd ONlY tO hAVE fAllEN ONCE MORE. i fEEl i hAVE bEEN WAY tOO GENEROUS iN EliMiNAtiNG thOSE PEOPlE fOR YOU, bUt YOU hAd tO GO ANd lOOk A Gift hORSE iN thE MOUth, SO tO SPEAk. i dON't kNOW hOW i MANAGE tO tOlERAtE YOU BOYS, bUt i dO.
ME, bEiNG thE kiNd PERSON thAt i AM, hAVE dECidEd tO lEAVE YOU AlONE fOR thE tiME bEiNG, AlthOUGh i REAliZE thAt YOU Will NOt lEAVE ME AlONE. A littlE QUid PRO QUO SEEMS tO bE tOO MUCh tO ASk NOWAdAYS, dOESN't it? i hAVE tO APOlOGiZE fOR YOUR lACk Of hUMANitY, bUt MAYbE MY OWN hUMANitY Will MAkE UP fOR it.
SO YES, i AM NO lONGER iN PREVENtERS HEAdQUARtERS. SUCh A fiNE EStAbliShMENt. i lOVE thE AURA Of fAlSE SECURitiES it iS ShROUdEd iN. AlMOSt MAkES ME fEEl SAfE. AlMOSt. tEll UNE thAt EVEN thE GREAtESt idEAS hAVE fAilEd. AN AMAtEUR bUIlt thE ARk, bUt PROfESSiONAlS bUilt thE titANiC.
JUSt REMEMbER thAt i AM bEttER thAN All Of YOU. YOU ARE All MURdERERS. i AM A SAViOR. i GEt Rid Of thOSE WhO dON't kNOW ENOUGh tO GEt Rid Of thEMSElVES. YOUR EtERNAl PUNiShMENt Will bE tO GEt bROkEN ON A WhEEl EtERNAllY. i ShAll lAUGh At YOU fROM AbOVE AS YOU bURN.
i thiNk i hAVE tOld YOU ENOUGh. MAY GOd hAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUl./
Duo threw the note down in disgust. "I am so fucking sick of this...and I think I'm repeating myself at this point, I really do! Not to mention the fact that *now* he's saying he's better than us because he kills with purpose or some shit like that. I am *not* going to let that get to me because *I* am not a wanted criminal, so he better-" Duo stopped all of a sudden when he realized he was being given strange looks from everyone. "What!?"
Quatre looked like he was struggling to keep a grin off his face. "It's just that...well...you're ranting worse than Wufei."
Wufei crossed his arms across his chest, feigning insulted. "And doing a piss-poor job of it, if I do say so myself."
*~**~*
Duo exited the bathroom, changed into a comfortable T-shirt and sweatpants instead of the uncomfortable and confining uniform that the Preventers officers had to where day in and day out. His vision was drawn to Heero sitting on the sofa, laptop sitting on the coffee table with the note beside him. "Yanno Heero, there's no way there's a clue in every little line in that damn thing."
"You of any of us should have recognized the religious references."
"What? 'An amateur built the Ark, but professionals built the Titanic'? I don't even know what the hell the Titanic is!"
Heero pointed at the monitor. "It was a oceanliner back in the early twentieth century that was claimed to be unsinkable yet hit an iceburg and sank, resulting in the death of more than two thousand passengers and crewmen[2]."
"Aw I bet that sucked royally. But what's that have to do with Preventers?"
The Japanese man shrugged. "Maybe he thinks a less professional organization could undermine Une's operation." He handed the note over to Duo. "Maybe you can help with those." Duo looked down at the paper and noticed that some of the sentences were highlighted in yellow.
/i AM A SAViOR./
/YOUR EtERNAl PUNiShMENt Will bE tO GEt bROkEN ON A WhEEl EtERNAllY. i ShAll lAUGh At YOU fROM AbOVE AS YOU bURN./
/MAY GOd hAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUl./
He shrugged. "Doctor Dement-o thinks we're going to Hell and will be broken on a wheel for all of eternity. He might even think he will 'save' us by cleansing us of our sins, which is funny because if I recall correctly, being broken on a wheel is the punishment for pride."
[/Our pride had been getting the better of us, and that seems to be what the killer wanted./]
"Wait a minute, Heero...cleanse us of our sins..." Duo ticked off each one on his fingers. "Pride, envy..."
[Trowa shrugged in response. "Hero worship, maybe. Besides, what were *you* doing at that age?"]
"...wrath..."
["Paul Lucas was a former OZ official. There are dormant bombs in his refridgerator wrapped in tin foil and freezer bags. According to this log on the computer, he was supposed to blow up Headquarters this afternoon around 1430." Heero looked at his watch. "If it wasn't for our serial killer, the bombs would have just gone off."]
"...sloth..."
[/Shit AddS UP At thE bOttOM/]
"...greed..."
[Duo looked up in time to see Quatre going through all the closets, cabinets, and boxes he could find. "Hey, Duo...why wouldn't she give money to her own children?"
He shrugged. "Anger. Revenge. Or maybe she was a real Scrooge." Duo tilted his head. "Why? What'd you find?" Quatre tossed something in Duo's direction, and he caught it easily, eyes widening at what it was. "Quatre? This is a three inch stack of hundred dollar bills."]
"...gluttony..."
[There had been 113 people in the bar, even though it had a 100 person maximum. Twelve of those who had been killed were employees whether it was the jazz band, the bartenders, or the waitresses. The other 101 people were simply patrons who picked the wrong place at the wrong night, and now all their parts were blown all over the area.]
"...and lust."
[From Duo's reaction, Wufei didn't even look at the body and just recited off the information that had been gathered by the cop who had found the body from the neighbors' complaints of too much noise. The noise had turned out to be gay pornography that was on a repetitive play cycle. It was the last thing the victim saw before he died.
"Victim is 56-year-old David Reeves. We were only able to ID him so quickly because he was on the most-wanted criminal lists for the Alliance, OZ, and the UESN. Reeves was a sexual predator and had been linked to the kidnapping, rape, and death of nearly twenty victims, the majority of which were under the age of seven."]
Heliotropic eyes went wide in realization. "Heero..."
"The victims were killed according to the..."
"...Seven Deadly Sins," Duo finished.
"Demo what contradicts the Seven Dealdy Sins?"
Duo had to think for a moment, going back to days in his childhood that he thought were best forgotten, but they seemed to be life or death at the moment. "The Seven Heavenly Virtues, but... Ah, shit, damn it! I don't remember what they were."
Heero quickly logged onto the Internet, running a search for the Heavenly Virtues, results popping up immediately. He picked a link and waited for the list to load. "Humility, kindness, patience, diligence, liberality, abstinence, and chastity." Prussian eyes shot up from the screen to meet Duo's. "Kindness."
/ME, bEiNG thE kiNd PERSON thAt i AM, hAVE dECidEd tO lEAVE YOU AlONE fOR thE tiME bEiNG, AlthOUGh i REAliZE thAt YOU Will NOt lEAVE ME AlONE./
A chime went off on the laptop, announcing the message of an email.
/VERY GOOd, bOYS. NiCE tO kNOW thAt MY hARd WORk hASN't GONE tO WAStE. MAY i NOW diRECt YOUR AttENtiON tO thE fOllOWiNG AddRESS?
tOGEthER WE StAND StRONG
48 EMMitt StREEt
lOWER EASt MANhAttEN[3]
i'll bE SEEiNG YOU tOMORROW./
"This is unbelievable. We're being teased or something, we have to be. This isn't making sense."
Heero shut down the computer, rising slowly and popping stiff joints. "Seriel killers want to be caught, remember?"
Duo wasn't convinced. "Yeah, but this guy thinks what he's doing is all righteous and good."
"Maybe he wants us to decide that for him."
"Yeah, maybe."
Heero moved to stand behind his boyfriend, kissing the base of Duo's neck. "He'll get life if not the death sentence, so you shouldn't worry. We'll catch him. You can't worry that he'll be 'saved' by his God if you don't believe in Him anyway."
Duo leaned back into the embrace. "Hmm, I guess you're right." The American spun around, wrapping his arms around Heero's neck. "Now, do I get something special for finding the pattern?"
Heero smiled suggestively. "We'll see what we can come *up* with."
Duo moaned as his mouth was captured in his Japanese lover's, and any previous doubts were immediately abandoned for the prospect of much more enjoyable activities.
*~**~*
End Part 9
[1] Muhahaha! The earliest placed footnote EVER! Uh, anyway, think PalmPilot or something like that. Or if you're a Star Wars fan, it's a datapad. I had no idea what to call it.
[2] That was off the top of my head. Please just don't correct me if the figures are wrong. Let me try to feel smart and riddled with useless information for once.
[3] I know nothing about New York City...been there a few times, but not enough to know how the city is set up and such, so please pretend this is also correct if it isn't. Arigato!