City of Angels
chapter 4
by Krystal
Here it tis! Part four! ::looks around:: ::cri`ketz chirp::
Looks like i'm the only one excited about this. :sighs:
Part Four!!!!! :grins:
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Part 4: A little bit of fun 4/12/00
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Quatre paused in his packing to sneak off into the kitchen and see what Trowa was up to. He could just barely smell faint hints of Trowa's favorite spices, coupled with a few muffled curses and the very distinct sound of clanking pots and pans. Which could only mean one thing--Trowa was cooking!
Quatre smiled, a timid, almost mischievous little smile. Setting aside the half-filled duffle that he favored for ammo and C4 charges, Quatre slowly slid open the window that rested above the double size bed he and Trowa had been sharing, hoping that maybe when he came back the smell would be stronger here in the lonely room. Not much could beat the smell of cooking and a spring on Earth.
These days, the two of them barely got a moment's peace. In the last few months, Quatre had been up on L-4 cluster working with his sisters.
*Arguing* was more like it, Quatre thought grimly. All of the arguments being over new prototypes of this and that, none of which Quatre had found stimulating. But at least when he was on L-4 working he could decide when to take days off.
Quatre sighed, carefully opening the door and melding with the shadows of the hall. Not that he would ever give up this life. Just because peace had *officially* been declared didn't mean that it existed. No; regardless of the dangers, Quatre did have fun when he got the chance to do work away from home.
But lately he'd been restless. Something about all this business concerning the lost colonies, and Duo-- Quatre quickly squashed the thought. The connections were there but, they just didn't have enough pieces to the puzzle. Trowa had been working on and off doing field work and visiting the circus, leaving *very* little time for the two of them to even acknowledge one another still being alive.
Plus, the time all of them had spent in the field investigating what ever whims the higher ups had decided to have over the last few years. It was all proving to be very annoying. Quatre hadn't even been on Earth a week and he already wanted to call in sick for work. And now with all the problems at the mines, and the Outer Colonies, he was lucky if he could even speak with Trowa. Let alone . . .
His face lit up as he paused in the hallway leading to the kitchen, a small smile settling across his face. Hell, they still had a few hours.
*****
If there was one thing Heero Yuy hated more than living among civilians, it was shopping with them! They were so damned-- Heero couldn't even think of any words to describe the amount of incompetence that was involved in shopping in a supermarket with civilians.
Heero bit down on a yelp as a rather well endowed woman--sporting two very loud children, a purse Heero could have easily hid an uzi in, and the very shopping-cart-from-hell Heero was currently glaring as it threw itself into his side for the third time. The boy behind him cackled menacingly *again*. Heero looked up as the *lady* bid him a rather unsorry-like apology and then hastily made her way around to the next aisle holding back what Heero was certain to be a giggle. Heero turned to glare at the boy.
No-- Heero never really liked the whole blending in "we're working undercover" thing. He much rather preferred the *direct* approach. Heero almost smirked--almost.
Throwing in an extra can of chicken and stars soup for Wufei, Heero carefully began to make his way toward the Asian foods aisle. He never quite knew what brand of wacko's he would find each time he visited *that* particular aisle. For all Heero knew some sort of cult had been started on this side of the earth, and they all thought that they needed to loom near the boxes of tea in every grocery store.
This time it was two teenaged girls standing at the end of the aisle, debating various herbal remedies and their effects. Heero mentally sighed as they spotted him approaching--he had half a mind to turn around and tell Quatre to get his own damn tea, when he noticed the same small boy that he'd seen earlier round the corner, attempting to act non-chalant about something and failing miserably.
Despite the fact that Heero already knew what that *something* was, he found himself walking down toward the tea anyway. The kid couldn't be more than thirteen; he still had that rounded look of innocence in his face. His clothes were plain, just an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but the silver and gold ring set on the boy's left hand gave the whole "I'm Innocent" illusion away. The thing that really struck Heero was the chestnut coloring of the boy's hair, and the length-- it just barely hit his slender shoulders. While it was nothing compared to Duo's, Heero couldn't help that brief flicker of pain.
Dammit! He couldn't do this--not now. Biting his lip Heero, shifted the basket to his left hand, allowing easier access to the .44 he had at the small of his back If push came to shove he really didn't want to be playing with the knives he had on his wrists. Too messy. He'd holstered the gun so that it lay just under his light blue jacket. He preferred black, but for some odd reason people tended to trust you less when you were wearing black. They always thought you were hiding something. Go figure.
If this kid was part of the local circle--well, at least Heero would get to play "Direct Approach."
*****
"Pick up pick up pick up! Dammit!" /JANACE GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUTTA BED!/ Duo mentally screamed as the phone mercilessly continued to ring. Duo anxiously twirled the phone chord around one, slim digit while scrutinizing his surroundings.
The hotel's muddy parking lot was beginning to harden under the harsh light of the sun while the remainder of the rain reflected up at Duo's latest headache. It was still only a dull throb, but if he didn't get some sleep soon--he would be throwing up his breakfast/lunch before the hour was out. He grimaced, luckily he'd been able to find an at least somewhat out-of-the-way hotel.
Nicknamed 'The Inn', this one story hotel was far better than the one Duo had woken up in last night. At least, what Duo had seen of it so far was. He still hadn't gotten the chance to actually go to his room yet.
He'd started out with a small breakfast of coffee and a bagel. He was surprised that he could even think of food at all after everything he'd seen that morning, but his stomach had been very adamant about his eating something with those pills he had taken.
Finally after about the twelfth painful ring, a sleep-bogged voice muttering profanities answered with a barely concealed, very annoyed, "Hello?"
"Janace, god dammit! Where have you been?!"
"Heero, it's too early in the fucking day--what do you want now?" Janace drawled on the other end.
Duo grimaced at the 'now' part, mostly because he sort of felt sorry for last night. He couldn't remember *everything* clearly, but he vaguely remembered seriously bitching Janace out and her doing the same--or maybe it was more her bitching . . .
"Janace, you've got to listen to me-- You and Jarod were lovers, right? And from what I've gathered, you two go waaay back. Farther than he'll ever talk about--"
"Heero! What the hell--"
"Listen; what can you tell me about Jarod that *he* hasn't, Janace? You knew him before I did." Duo took on a more somber tone, all the anxiety draining out of him and turning into exhaustion.
"Okay, Hee-- Wait just a god damned minute. What's going on?" There was a brief pause, and then, "You're not even on my Caller-ID!"
"I blocked it?" Duo heard a long sigh on the other end of the line, along with the sounds of someone making coffee.
"Ok H--or is it Duo again?" Janace asked sounding somewhat skeptical.
"Duo."
"Duo? Would you care to start out at the beginning?"
"Not really, it's rather dangerous . . ."
"Oh, hell! Fine! All Jarod ever gave me was a number. It's for some guy called Nick Martinez--said if we was ever in trouble ta call it. . . ."
*****
The last thing Heero Yuy expected when he walked into the kitchen sporting a few groceries, the mail, and a couple boxes of ammo was to find Quatre and Trowa sprawled across the kitchen table. Then again, the only unusual thing about this was the fact that it was in fact the kitchen table!
"So . . ." Heero looked around "Where's the kid?" Heero asked, trying very hard not to laugh at the look on Quatre's face. If he got any redder, Heero wasn't too sure what would happen. Then again. . .
"We . . . umm . . . that is--" Quatre sat up, detangling himself and blushing furiously.
"We put her in *your* room," Trowa finished for the embarrassed Quatre.
"Aa." Heero nodded and then went about putting the groceries in a line on the counter, all the while blinking back tears of laughter.
Quatre looked down at his hands, kneading them furiously in his lap and trying *really* hard to come up with something to say. He felt guilty; Heero was alone now.
Trowa, on the other hand, didn't really seem bothered. It wasn't like they were naked or anything. /Well . . . / Trowa mused to himself /not yet, anyway . . . at least not fully./ Trowa groaned as he bent over to pick up the shirt Quatre had thrown down to the floor. When he stood up he smoothed Quatre's hair back and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Slipping the t-shirt over his head, Trowa went about helping Heero unload everything.
"There's more in the car," Heero intoned. "And I saw some kid from the local Circle." Indicating that Trowa should wait before heading out to retrieve the bags, Heero continued. "He tried following me while I was shopping. I lost him before I got home. However I still think it would be wise if we got the hell out of here ASAP."
"You want to leave later this evening then?" Trowa questioned.
"Yeah, after Quatre and Wufei leave, rent us a hotel room. I need to finish loading some more info before I leave. Besides, if you show up early in district 02, there may be a few suspicions."
Trowa nodded and then walked through the kitchen door, leaving Heero and Quatre alone. "Umm--" Quatre started to say something, but Heero cut him off before he could embarrass himself any more.
"Shouldn't you be packing? You're due to leave in two hours."
"Hai. Heero?"
Heero turned to glare at the boy, but when he looked at Quatre's face the glare wilted and turned into an understanding small smile.
Quatre's eyes lit up. He seldom ever got to see Heero smile; *really* smile. Especially after what had happened with Duo. Quatre could only remember seeing Heero smile once in the last two years. It was a little unnerving, but Quatre smiled back.
As he tentatively made his way back toward his bedroom, Quatre paused at Wufei's slightly open door. Pushing it open a little more, Quatre peered inside. Wufei lay sprawled across the bed, one arm thrown over his face. From the look on his face, Quatre could tell that Wufei's dreams weren't pleasant; Heero was hardly the only one of them that had been plagued with nightmares for the last two years.
Quatre involuntarily shuddered as he took another step into the room, noting the neatness and care Wufei had taken with the room to pass the time. Wufei was like that when something was bothering him; really bothering him, anyway. He would slip into a quiet refuge and clean everything in sight. While it proved to be somewhat entertaining at times, Quatre knew that this was definitely *not* one of the times when the situation was funny. He knew he wasn't the only one to make connections between the Outer Colonies and Duo. They were just all waiting on Heero.
Just then Quatre noticed the warm arms encircling his waist as he was pulled back against Trowa. Quatre was the first one to break the silence.
"He looks so . . . sooo--"
"Peaceful?" Trowa supplied.
Quatre noted the slight pause in Wufei's breathing as Trowa spoke.
"Welll. . . I was gonna say feminine," Quatre quipped, a grin spreading across his face.
"Winner, I heard that." Wufei rolled over putting his back to them.
"I was just being honest!" Quatre mock-protested as Trowa chuckled behind him.
Wufei didn't even bother to dignify that with a verbal response. Instead he flipped them both off and then pulled his blankets up, settling down to sleep only when he heard the door click shut.
*****
(A few hours later)
Wufei awoke to the wonderful sound of gunshots, someone in the distance swearing, and the faint smell of burning house. He smiled, just a bare curve of lips. Action, something more to do than run errands for idiotic officials that never really got anything done anyway. He heard two more shots before he reached under his pillow, grabbing his gun and padding toward the solid oak door. As much as he loved action, there was always--and we're talking the kind that never fails here--an equal and very opposite reaction. Usually when Wufei and explosives were involved that *reaction* typically proved to be negative.
He moved to the side of the door, and gently tapped the knob. /Cold. / There wasn't any smoke pooling in through the crack beneath, so he had to assume that the fire was, at least for now, somewhat contained. Positioning himself against the wall, gun at the ready, Wufei mentally winced and bit down hard on his lip as a sharp throb shot up through his foot. Just getting to the door itself had been peachy, but now he'd twisted it wrong again somehow and new pain was raging through all the way up his lower thigh.
When he was done seeing spots, he noted that the house had seemingly gone still. He could hear water running in the bath room, but no voices, no signs of life. Wufei held his breath, straining to hear even the faintest of movements. After a few more moments his patience was wearing thin, and he tapped at the knob again, barely giving the chill of the brass time to reach his brain before very quietly opening the door.
Peering into the too-silent corridor, Wufei, for the first time noticed the lack of light. It was defiantly *not* late afternoon; judging from the silvery glow filtering in through the kitchen window down the hall, it was past early evening. "K'so!" It was barely a whisper, unintelligible beneath the sound of rushing water coming from the bathroom.
Wufei noted the thin slice of light radiating from the partly-open bathroom door as he slid into the hallway. /What in the hell?/
Ankle protesting with every step, Wufei tentatively approached the slight spill of illumination coming from the bathroom. The smell of something burning was defiantly stronger out here, but he still couldn't detect any signs of smoke or anything else for that matter. Black eyes widening as he realized that he wasn't alone, Wufei barely had time to register the black silhouette out of the corner of his eye. This defiantly ranked somewhere toward the top of his 'Weird Shit' list he thought, as he slid into blackness.
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