Chapter 4 / 37
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
Quatre, Heero, Trowa, and Wufei stood on the roof of the Winner Estate where Duo's stolen medical helicopter had landed. All four of them wore expressions ranging from slack-jawed disbelief to unabashed horror. None of them said a word, all four simply staring at Duo in shock.
Duo looked at them all and then ran a hand through his bangs with a grin. "What, do I have something in my teeth?"
Quatre stared and pointed, flabbergasted. It took him several attempts before he managed to speak. "Duo! Is...But....Is that Zechs Merquise?!" the Arabian finally managed to exclaim, his accusing point aimed at the gurney in the back of the chopper.
Duo followed Quatre's finger and peered into the helicopter. "Huh. How'd he get there?"
"B...But..."
Duo immediately latched onto Quatre. "Oh, Quatre, pleeeeease can I keep him? I promise I'll take good care of him!"
"Maxwell, you IDIOT!" Wufei finally managed to splutter. "You...STOLE....Zechs Merquise?!"
Duo shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, couldn't get him to talk before the alarms went off, so I figured I'd bring my work home with me, y'know?"
Heero finally managed to wipe the blank expression off his face and yanked the pistol from his belt. The barrel ended up pointed straight at Duo's face, though the braided teen seemed un-phased. "Omae o korosu!"
"Yeah, sure you will, Mr. Self-Destruct. You wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have a high-profile OZ prisoner here for interrogation and we both know it. A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed."
"We should kill him while we have the chance." Wufei grumbled, advancing towards Zechs. There was no real heat in his tone, however - he was no keener on the idea of killing a critically injured man in cold blood than Duo was. And, like Duo, he had a strange sort of respect for the infamous Lightning Count. They all did.
Quatre finally managed to convince Heero that he didn't actually want to shoot Duo and to put his gun away. "Well...we can't just leave him up here. Bring him inside...I'll...I'll get hold of Iria..."
"No." Duo interrupted. "We can't let anyone know he's here. Besides, he's already had his operations. Just have to keep him loopy on pain meds and make sure he doesn't get dehydrated and stuff. I'll take care of him. Would one of you mind takin' the bird here and blowing it up? It'd probably be rather un-cool if OZ tracked it somehow. Why don't you do it, Heero? You like blowing things up, right?"
Heero glared at Duo but Quatre quickly interceded and ushered him away towards the cockpit as Duo cheerily unloaded Zechs, along with several medical supplies from the helicopter.
Duo whistled as he flipped through the charts. "Well, looks like Zechsy here got top of the line treatment. Put it on my tab please and thanks, Mr. Khushrenada."
"Where will you put him?" Trowa asked, eyeing Zechs and then Duo somewhat dubiously. Duo paused to consider the question.
"Eh...Hey, Quatre! You HAVE to have a safe room or three in this here mini-city you call a house, right? Or a safe? Or somethin?"
Quatre paused to consider it for a moment before nodding slowly. "Actually, yes. I have a safe room meant to serve as a shelter if the estate comes under attack. I'm sure you can rearrange a few things and it should work." Quatre paused for a moment and looked at Zechs again. "Duo, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"What could go wrong?" Duo chirped and cheerily rolled Zechs inside.
~ * ^ * ~
When Zechs next opened his eye, he immediately realized something was seriously out of sorts. The room he was in was clean, but instead of the tiny white and blue ceramic tiles covering the walls there was smooth concrete. His window was gone. The various monitors and IVs he had been hooked to were mostly present.
A glance at the rest of the room revealed that it was a sizeable square chamber. Cameras and some surveillance equipment were newly rigged. The door to the room was shut with an electronic lock from the inside. There was a fairly large metal bar that could be applied to seal the room from the inside to keep anyone out, although it seemed to be open.
Along the opposite side of the room was a twin-sized bed. A small desk stood near the head of the bed. A lamp, laptop, and an intercom were tossed haphazardly on it. Relaxing on the bed was none other than Duo Maxwell. He was idly taking apart and cleaning out a pair of handguns.
"Where are we?"
Duo jumped when Zechs spoke, fumbling for pieces of his gun that he sent flying as he sat bolt upright. He missed most of them. "Well, hey, look who's rejoined the world of the living. I can't say I expected that. You've been out a long time."
"Thanks to you." Zechs retorted dryly.
"Oh, you don't need to thank me." Duo grinned, reassembling his weapons with practiced ease. "I told ya; you and me needed to have a chat, and we do. But I didn't think your buddies at OZ would really be so accepting of my benevolent intentions, so I figured I'd borrow you for a while."
Zechs stared at Duo for a long moment. "Borrow....me."
"Er...well...I guess. And don't worry; I'm takin' good care of you. I know more medical stuff than you might think. And I'm also watching out for you. So you better behave. I may be too nice a guy to off someone that's all smashed up for no reason, but if you try anything...I won't have any such qualms. Ya get me?"
"Yes, I...get you."
"Yep, you're my personal responsibility."
"Somehow, I'm not sure that comforts me."
Duo pouted for a moment, then stuck out his tongue. "Eh, bet we at least feed ya better than that hospital food crap."
"I haven't been able to eat solid food since the crash."
Duo blinked, then struck a pose of deep thought. "Oh. Well...I guess I can throw a steak in the blender or something..."
Zechs made a face. "That sounds absolutely disgusting."
Duo snickered. "Eh, you're right. Well, I'll just have to make you soup then. I don't have any injectable food. Though I could probably get some..."
"...soup will be fine."
"Good deal. But first, you're going to tell me about the incident. You can either just tell me, we get it out of the way, and then I figure out what to do with you...or you lay here miserable and broken until you decide to tell me anyways or starve and have no painkillers and all that nastiness."
Zechs knew this was an argument he couldn't win. // Besides, they'll probably find out soon enough anyways. //
~ * ^ * ~
Treize sat calmly next to the bed Shaiyra was in, a rifle across his lap in plain sight. The silver - haired boy had just awakened. // My, what a difference a bit of washing and a change of clothes do. //
Shaiyra truly was a sight to behold. His waist-length silver hair was straight and wispy, possessing an oddly metallic sheen in the light. His skin was fair, though marred by several minor injuries. His leg was freshly bandaged.
Shaiyra squinted at the bandage and then the hospital gown he was wearing, before shielding his luminous blue eyes with his hand and growling a bit under his breath.
"Good morning, Shaiyra. It's nice to see you cleaned up. However, you and I have some things to discuss."
Shaiyra hissed a bit before giving Treize a baleful glare. "If I speak to you, will you remove that damned light?"
Treize arched an eyebrow. "The light bothers you?"
Shaiyra mumbled a bit. "...hurts."
Treize blinked. "I didn't realize you had such a condition. However, I have no other source of light and don't trust sitting in a room with you in the dark."
"Hnn...at least you're smart, for a human."
"For a human, indeed. So tell me, what are YOU? The nurses were entirely unable to analyze blood samples. And I still need you to tell me what happened in your fight."
Shaiyra gave Treize a withering glance before sitting up. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"
"I cannot promise that, no."
Shaiyra grumbled, but didn't have the energy to fight it. "At least give me a room without all these damn lights and leave me in relative peace?"
"That I can do. Let's have your story."
Shaiyra sighed, then grudgingly began speaking.