Chapter 20 / 37
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
After a shower and a fresh change of clothes each - and several stolen kisses - Zechs and Duo ended up finding their way out to the hangar. The room seemed larger and more hollow with only Deathscythe and Epyon's remains, instead of containing the other four Gundams and a large group of Maguanac suits as well.
The quiet obviously did not suit Duo, for it took him all of two minutes before he got up into his Deathscythe, flipped a couple switches, and a sudden stream of rock and roll music blared through the speaker system. Zechs blinked and arched an eyebrow. "I hadn't realized your suit served as a boom box."
Duo chuckled gleefully and patted Deathscythe lovingly. "Of course! Sometimes ya need some good tunes to compliment some base-stomping or OZ-smashing!" It was Duo's turn to look incredulous. "What, you think I'm going to fly around and listen to beeps and news reports all day? That'd be boring."
Zechs shook his head in amusement as he picked up a soldering iron and headed for his own machine. "Of course. How silly of me. I figured most people would be more focused on their surroundings and their mission."
Duo grinned and flounced past him, snagging a pile of wiring and a couple tools before hitching a ride up to Epyon's cockpit. "Eh, you should know by now that I'm not most people."
The platinum blonde eyed him for a long moment before a smile curved his lips and he looked back to his own work. "No...you're definitely not."
Duo hummed cheerily as he flopped down on the seat, setting down his supplies and plucking up a fresh circuit board. He reached in and grabbed several wires, pulling them up. As he lifted them clear of the side wall of the mobile suit, he met resistance. Somewhat surprised and miffed - these wires shouldn't have been attached to anything as far as he knew - Duo gave them a sharp tug and was able to pull them free. There was a soft noise of something sticky squelching free of the side wall, then a quiet, burbling hiss. "Hm?..."
The braided pilot blinked as he peered into the compartment. // Shouldn't have been anything in there, I just cleaned that out the other day before I started rewiring this bad boy... // Holding the mess of wires in one hand, he fumbled around until he found his flashlight and peered into the side wall.
It took him a long moment to figure out what it was that he was seeing, but when he did, Duo almost fainted on the spot. The entire interior wall of Epyon as far as he could see was packed with explosives. Far more disturbing was the other contents of the compartment, however.
When Duo had yanked the wires free, he had inadvertently pulled a thick glass tube free from its precarious position, attached to the inside wall with some sort of sticky gel. The tube had fallen and opened, spilling its contents into the bottom of the compartment. The tube contained a clear, oily liquid. Duo sniffed and then frowned - the pungent odor rang a bell in his mind. // Sulfuric acid? //
The hissing noise was the result of a thick plastic container that was sitting in the pool of acid. The acid was very slowly eating away at the sides of the bottle. Duo scanned the plastic container desperately as best as he could through the corrosive fluid. His eyes widened to an almost impossible size as he saw the label on the side.
// Acetone...? //
The purpose of all this was clear to Duo in one dreadful heartbeat. Epyon had been rigged as a sort of time-bomb. Too much movement, or perhaps the heat of the machine doing its work, would have dislodged the acid tube. The acid would take time - a few minutes, most likely - to eat through the smaller plastic container. When it finally did wear through, the acetone would spill, reacting with the acid and exploding violently. The fireball would more than serve to ignite the explosives that had been carefully concealed in these walls...making the death of the pilot almost assured while minimizing the effect to anyone nearby.
Duo gasped in horrified awe, unable to do anything for a moment. // Someone tried to kill Zechs...! // Duo swore viciously as he realized how rapidly he was running out of time. He clenched his flashlight in his teeth. // Oh ... *FUCK* me ... well, I'm right handed... //It served to muffle the agonized scream as he thrust his left hand into the compartment, snatching the rapidly dissolving plastic bottle. The pain that flared through his fingers from the acid burns nearly caused him to swoon.
Zechs' eyes flew upward in alarm as he heard Duo's muffled cry of anguish. "Duo?!"
Duo let out a strangled sob as he jerked his hand free. He was unable to hold on to the melting container or get it out through the small opening without destroying it and was forced to drop it, clutching his hand to his chest as tears stung his eyes. He dropped the flashlight, and it rolled and fell from Epyon's cockpit to smash distantly on the ground below. With a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Duo whirled around. He didn't have any time to think about his situation, he simply ran and leapt free of the cockpit.
Zechs was mortified when his brain finally accepted that Duo had just dived headfirst out of Epyon's cockpit just as a thunderous explosion rocked the mobile suit. A huge ball of flame rolled out right behind Duo. Had the boy remained a moment longer...
Duo landed heavily on top of a pile of thick canvas. When he had unloaded parts for Epyon earlier, he had pulled the cover off the truck and, in typical Duo fashion, not put it away before diving into the far more interesting task of playing with Epyon-parts. His impatience was the only thing that spared him from more severe injury - and possibly even saved his life. Gundams were tall, and the floor was plated metal. Despite the meager cushion, his landing was far from gentle. The breath blasted from his lungs and spots danced before his eyes. His fogginess cleared a moment later as he curled into a fetal position, clutching his burned hand desperately as his breath hissed through his teeth.
Zechs let out a horrified yell and was at Duo's side in an instant. He examined Duo quickly for signs of injury, and was stunned and relieved to find him mostly unharmed. Even his hair had gotten lucky - Duo hadn't bothered to dry it after his shower and the thick tresses held enough water to keep them from being singed.
Moving quickly, Zechs worked at convincing Duo to let him see his hand, recognizing the acid burn for what it was. "Duo...! Duo, what the hell just happened?" Without waiting for Duo's explanation, he scooped the chestnut haired boy up and carried him rapidly into the house to the nearest sink. His newly healed arm protested and ached horribly, but he ignored it.
Duo winced in anguish as the cool water flowed over his burned hand. The damage wasn't as bad as he had feared, although the pain was legendary.
"What happened?" Zechs repeated with a frown, examining Duo's blistered fingers. Duo scowled darkly.
"Somebody set you up the bomb, Zechsy."
Zechs arched an eyebrow.
Duo sighed. "They rigged it so a damn bottle of acid would fall if you moved Epyon too much...the acid eats through another container of acetone just waitin' for it...acetone and sulfuric acid explode into a fireball on contact...blow up all the damn explosives packed inside the walls of your cockpit."
Zechs was stunned - not at the attempt on his life, there'd been enough of those over the years - but at the sheer devious nature of it. And who knew he was here? Very, very few people.
Duo gave him a sheepish grin as they relocated to the room they shared. Zechs dug around in the leftover medical supplies until he found some antibiotic cream and some fresh bandages, both of which he carefully applied to Duo's hand. "Heh...I tried to stop it but...wasn't quick enough, I guess. I'm sorry about your Epyon."
Zechs frowned and then pulled Duo against him in a tight hug. "I couldn't care less about it right now...I'm just glad you're alright."
Duo winced. "I feel like one big bruise, really. I'd recommend AGAINST jumping out of that thing without something softer to land on."
The older teen chuckled ruefully. "Well, I don't plan on it. But you know this means that someone at OZ wanted to kill me..." Duo shook his head, interrupting.
"No, I was just workin' in there the other day. None of that shit was in there."
Zechs frowned. "The only alternative is that it was an inside job."
Duo's eyes narrowed in a glare. "...Heero."
The platinum blonde frowned. "Perhaps. But there are plenty of others with access to the hangar..."
Duo stared at Zechs for a long moment. "Yeah, well, I guess one of Q's boys could have it in for you, you being former OZ and all, but still."
"We'll have to tread very carefully from now on." Zechs said with a soft sigh. Duo couldn't help but nod in agreement, wondering if they would encounter any other devious traps...or set any off.