It was the pain that eventually brought him back to consciousness, a hot sharp throbbing ache at the back of his head that reverberated through his skull with every heartbeat. He groaned thickly, dust foul-tasting on his tongue, and blinked his eyes open warily. Dim light shivered into his eyes and he squeezed them shut quickly, pushing back the pain in his head until it was at a manageable level.
Moving was a mistake; he knew that before even trying, but he didn't have a choice. Taking firm hold of his self-control Duo heaved a deep breath and shifted gingerly, slitting his eyes open and tilting his head as carefully as he could. There seemed to be some kind of debris covering his back from the left shoulder down, although most of his right side was free. It shifted a little when he moved, though, and it wasn't heavy enough to be bearing much weight.
Gritting his teeth against the predictable surge of nausea resulting from the concussion, Duo pulled his right arm under him and shoved himself upwards, dislodging a pile of rubble � mostly shredded plasterboard and bits of chipped mortar � and a cloud of dust. Just ahead of him was a tangle of metal struts that appeared to once have been part of a fire escape, shards of glass scattered everywhere. He felt at his face and winced, fingers coming away sticky with drying blood.
Lovely. Pulling himself to his feet with more of a stagger than he cared to admit, Duo waited out the unpleasant rolling of his stomach before looking blearily around himself. Dust clouded the air, painting a haze across his field of vision.
Whatever explosive they'd used had either been a small charge or very low grade, Duo realised with no little relief. The outer concrete-and-metal-frame walls of the building hadn't been more than superficially damaged by the blast. That was more than could be said for the rest of the place, though. The inner walls that divided up the offices appeared to have been built almost entirely of plasterboard, with some cheap dust brick thrown in for solidity. The corridor they'd been running down was now an impassable-looking tangle of debris, destroyed furniture and bits of metal framework.
"Shit." Duo bent forward, coughing up dust, and surveyed the chaos warily. He could smell burning, and the ceiling was sagging alarmingly in places. Shoving the lingering nausea firmly into the background, he turned, scanning the tumbled mess for a familiar dark-blonde head. He almost missed her, the dust was so thick over the rubble, but a patch of telltale red caught his eye and slowly what looked at first sight like another pile of dislodged masonry came into focus as a body, slumped to one side and pinned beneath a mess of brick and metal sheeting.
Duo swallowed against the sinking feeling in his chest � Wu Fei is going to kill me � and picked his way in a pained stagger towards Sally. The red was all too identifiable as blood, smeared against a piece of plasterboard where she must have slid down. At least it seemed to be coming from her arm � more was pooled stickily beneath it where it was flung out, but the lack of consciousness was a problem.
"Sally?" Duo dropped stiffly to his knees at a safe distance, fingers reaching automatically for the pulse point. She did seem to be breathing, but it was a little shallow for his liking. Her skin was clammy as he felt for the artery, the pulse fast when he finally found it. "Crap. Sally!" He batted at her cheek, careful not to move her head. If he couldn't move her there were going to be problems. Her earpiece was gone, lost in the wreckage, and his had been fucked already.
"Sally!" Duo bit his lip and reached for his knife, slitting her sleeve and pinching the skin of her exposed arm. "Agent Water! Attention!" She stirred a little, and Duo bit back a sigh of relief. To give her time to come around, he ripped the sleeve further apart, exposing her upper arm and the jagged wound that was still fitfully oozing blood and fluid. The ruined sleeve made a compress that he could hold with one hand as she began to regain consciousness.
"Sally?" He pitched his voice low and reassuring, but it still came out strained. She twitched at the sound, groaning as her eyes flickered open.
"Maxwell?" It wasn't much more than a hoarse whisper, but it was one hell of a relief to Duo.
"In the flesh." He couldn't manage a grin, but she wasn't looking at him anyway so he carried on with the standard first-aid procedures. "Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere." She coughed, wincing, and he wished he had a water bottle to offer. "Nothing major, I think. Hurry up and get this lot off me."
"Yes ma'am," Duo replied with relief. Maybe Chang wouldn't have his guts for guitar strings after all. "Shit, how the hell did you manage to get stuck under this stuff anyway?" He surveyed the pile dubiously, wondering where he could apply pressure without dislodging anything sharp or heavy. Biting his lip, he got a grip on a likely piece of girder and tugged carefully. It took more effort than he liked; not only was the mess heavy but the concussion was playing merry hell with his balance.
"I think �" Sally paused to cough, an expression of mingled pain and annoyance briefly crossing her dust-streaked face. "I think I was closer to the blast point."
"Probably." Duo berated himself mentally for that one. "Good thing you have the vest on, huh?"
She laughed dryly as he yanked a torn piece of plasterboard away, tossing it carelessly to one side. "Yeah. Why isn't anything burning?"
"Hmm?" There was a messy chunk of plastic and steel sitting across her side and hip, pinning her down, and he couldn't quite get a grip without stabbing himself on the sharp edges. "I think the ceiling fell in some; must have smothered it. Fucking cheap construction," he muttered, finally deciding the hell with it and shrugging out of his jacket, using the thick fabric to protect his hands. "There." He grinned in relief, tossing the tangled detritus away; only a thick coating of dust remained.
Sally twitched and winced, then wriggled her way into a sitting position. "Nothing broken," she announced after a moment, "but I think I cracked a few ribs, even with the vest." She had her right hand pressed against her side, in the narrow gap between the two plates of the Kevlar vest.
"Can you walk?" Duo asked distractedly, already planning the best way out. He had been further from the blast, so back towards the main building was probably their best bet. "We need to get out of here pretty quick." The dust in the air had been joined by the beginnings of smoke, suggesting that the collapse hadn't totally smothered the fire after all.
"Sure." Sally examined the bandage on her left arm for a moment, then shrugged, holding out both hands to him. "Help me up?"
Duo grinned, grabbing her dusty hands in his bloody ones and pulling her carefully onto her feet. She swayed alarmingly at first, face pale beneath the dirt, but managed to steady herself without help, pulling away from him and taking a deep breath with another wince.
"Okay, let's go."
The path ahead resembled nothing so much as a jungle, only occasional ragged shafts of light filtering down through the dust from the damaged roof. They gave just enough illumination for Duo to be able to pick his way over and around obstacles of tangled and precariously heaped wreckage, Sally following close behind. Although the dust and dirt made it damn hard to be certain, Duo was pretty sure she was displaying symptoms of shock. He kept up a monologue, pointing out the best places to step and helping her where necessary, but Sally responded only in monosyllables, her breathing harsh and laboured. Duo was so occupied with mentally listing the ways Wu Fei was going to hurt him that he didn't hear the hiss of water escaping at velocity until he ducked around a dislodged strut and felt spray on his face.
"Well shit," he muttered, before raising his voice. "OK, you need to watch your footing here, Sal; it's gonna be a bit slippy." A broken pipe was hanging from the ceiling at an angle, spraying water across most of what was left of the corridor and turning the plaster dust into thick, muddy slurry beneath his feet. "Here, give me your hand � whoa!" He clutched hastily at the wall as his feet shifted beneath him, and heard Sally laugh exhaustedly behind him.
"So we can both go down together?" She inched her own way around the corner, placing her feet carefully and not wobbling half as much as he was.
"Nah, Fei'd kill me," Duo replied offhand, clicking his tongue as she negotiated herself through the mess without a single slip. "How the hell d'you manage that?" Even following in her footsteps, his feet were sliding dangerously.
Sally turned back to grin at him, the spray washing runnels into the dirt on her face so that she seemed to be watching him from behind a mask. Her hair was caked in wet mud, and Duo really didn't want to contemplate the state of his own. "You should try walking down a marble staircase in three inch heels now and then, Maxwell."
Duo winced, remembering the last Parliamentary Ball he'd been forced to attend as part of the honour guard. "Not really my style, thanks," he muttered, wondering if the current crisis would get him out of the next one � it was only a week or so until the elections, wasn't it?
Sally's laugh choked into a cough, and she doubled over for a moment, hacking and clutching her ribs. Duo moved to support her, one arm around her shoulders and the other beneath her elbow. "Doing OK?" he asked when she straightened again, pushing her tangled hair back from her face.
"Yeah." She nodded, face drawn and pale, and Duo could feel that she was shivering. "Come on, it's only a little further to an exit, and you're too short to carry me." She didn't push his hand away, though.
"Hey!" Duo snorted, picking his way through a scatter of tumbled furniture and bits of brick. If he remembered rightly, they couldn't be more than a few metres from the doorway, but the dark and dust hid almost everything. "It's not my damn fault everyone else in the world's stupidly tall!" He would have gone on, fear making even nonsense words better than silence, but he was interrupted by a banging noise from off to one side.
Duo paused, listening intently. Another bang, then something that sounded like a muffled order in a familiar voice. He just had time to pull Sally to one side before the sound of a shot cut through the stifling dust, a beam of almost blinding light swiftly following it.
***
Heero had looked about to have a heart attack when Duo and Sally had emerged from the door he'd shot open, so filthy and dust-covered that they were probably barely recognisable. Wu Fei had almost fainted with relief when he'd realised that they were safe, and not even the presence of local police and fire crews around the damaged building had prevented him from embracing Sally. Duo would have been more amused by that if Heero hadn't distracted him by doing the same, almost squashing the breath out of him and succeeding in transferring a good dose of mud to his own uniform jacket. Hilde'd had the gall to laugh, too.
"Shit," he muttered, glancing behind himself at the thickening plume of smoke that was rising from the roof of the destroyed wing. The place looked every bit as bad as he'd figured, and he was just grateful there'd been no one else in there. Now that the danger was over, his knees had decided to join his aching head in mutiny, turning mushy enough that he had to lean on Heero for balance. He probably wouldn't have been quite so put out about that if there hadn't been civilian police and fire-fighters running everywhere.
"Can you walk?" Heero asked him in that special low voice that meant he was concerned. Duo gave a tired nod, regretting it immediately as his vision swirled with colours.
"Sure. Let's get out of here, huh?" He didn't let go of Heero's sleeve, though, and his steps were careful as they followed Trowa towards the barriers that had been set up. Too little too late, Duo thought with amusement, opening his mouth to ask what had been done with the prisoners. A soft, choked sound behind him distracted his attention, and the words never left his lips.
"Sally!" Hilde and Wu Fei shouted in unison, and Duo whirled in panic, headache entirely forgotten as his eyes automatically searched for enemies.
There were none. Hilde was sprinting the few metres back to where Sally hung from Wu Fei's arm, doubled over and breathing harshly. She had one hand pressed to her midsection, and Duo felt his own stomach lurch at the sight of the ominous dark stain spreading down the legs of her pants.
"Shit. Shit!" Duo turned, ready to scream for help, but Trowa was already covering the distance to the barrier at a run, shouting for EMTs. He watched, uncertain and helpless, as Hilde ripped at buckles and straps, dragging the Kevlar vest off over Sally's head. Wu Fei's hand was white-knuckled on his wife's arm as he and Hilde lowered her to the ground, his voice hoarse and strident as he called her name. Sally was curled around herself, teeth set white in her lip and muffling sounds of pain as blood steadily soaked through her trousers. The next thing Duo knew, a police officer was shoving him and Heero heedlessly aside as ambulance sirens screamed in his ears and paramedics swarmed the scene.
***
Hospital ceilings had to be the dullest view in the world, Duo decided. Staring up at one for long periods of time was practically guaranteed to irritate the hell out of anyone, especially when all it made you do was run over and over certain events in your mind. Even through the slight haze of the pain medication they'd given him, the worry and fear was far too acute. Some pasty-faced junior doctor had tried to get him to sleep, but there was no way that was happening.
The rattle of the curtain jolted him from his unamused contemplation of the strip lights overhead. Heero's fingers tightened around his as he lowered his gaze, seeing a very worn-looking Hilde pulling up the other chair. Her hair was wet and disarrayed, but no amount of scrubbing could have erased the marks of pain and weariness on her face.
"What news?" Heero asked the question for him; Trowa had been sent out to sit with Wu Fei while Sally was in surgery.
She sighed. "I overheard something about liver damage and internal bleeding. With that and the haemorrhage�"
"Shit," Duo muttered, dropping his head back onto the lumpy pillow again with a wince. "Shit, shit, fucking damn."
"It wasn't your fault," Heero said sharply, tugging on his hand.
Duo didn't dignify that with an answer, turning back to Hilde and trying to put words to the most urgent question on his mind. "Did she� I mean� what about the baby?"
Hilde's mouth set into a grim line. "Not a hope in hell. They'll be lucky to save her life, as it is."
Duo couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he just dropped his head back onto the pillow with a stifled sigh.
"Did you report in?" Heero asked Hilde in a low voice, probably not wanting to disturb him if he did decide to take the doctor's advice. Duo felt like he'd never been further from sleep in his life.
"Yeah. Quatre's working with Une to get us new orders. Next scheduled contact'll be twenty-four hours."
"What's the status?"
"He says they've made progress, but we don't have a secure line�" Hilde's voice was low, or maybe it was just him� Duo closed his eyes despite himself, letting the exhaustion and stress of the day catch up with him at last.
***
When he woke, it was to the sound of Heero's voice, soft as he gently shook his shoulder. "Duo? Wake up�"
He blinked his eyes open, wincing at the brightness of the fluorescent strip in the ceiling. "Ugh." Even after� it had to be a good five or six hours of sleep, and his head was still pounding. Grimacing, Duo levered himself into a sitting position and wished he hadn't when the look on Heero's face registered. "You didn't wake me 'cause of the concussion, did you?"
Heero shook his head, eyes dark and impenetrable. "The doctors want Sally out of here ASAP; the rioting's damaged a lot of infrastructure, and there are indications that it could get worse. Are you OK for piloting?"
"Medevac?" Duo swung his legs off the bed, wincing at the layer of mud and dust that coated his pants, and pushed himself upright. Although he swayed a little as his equilibrium adjusted, he figured since his knees weren't giving way it was all good. "Yeah, I can do that. What's the timeframe?"
"We need to prep the shuttle within an hour for the best takeoff point." Heero looked him over once more, eyes hooded, then turned, pulling back the curtain and signalling to someone down the hallway.
"Huh. Back to Quat's place?" Duo pulled his jacket from the chair by the bed, brushing off as much dried mud � and blood, but he didn't want to think about that right now � as he could before shrugging into it. The familiar weight of the Beretta in the inner pocket was something of a comfort, at least. He was still checking his inventory � weapons, badge, motherfucking worthless faulty com equipment � when a large woman in a white coat entered the cubicle, heels tapping disapprovingly.
"Agent Maxwell, you should still be in bed. You have a concussion and possible head trauma." Her eyes, behind heavy glasses, were small and cold. For some reason she reminded him of that bastard J, and that was all the impetus to rebellion he needed.
"Got to get Sally back to L4." Duo tossed his filthy, tangled braid over his shoulder, staring down the few inches that he had over her without flinching.
"Hmph. You're not going anywhere until I say so, young man." She pointed imperiously at the bed; Duo glared at Heero's suspiciously impassive face over her head before sighing and seating himself so that the doctor could peer into his eyes.
"Hmm." The woman flickered him with a penlight a couple of times, face screwing up like a sour prune, and quizzed him on names and dates for a while before poking at the lump on the back of his head.
"Are you done?" Duo asked, running out of patience as she began to repeat herself, checking her findings against his notes.
"Ridiculous rate of healing� what those idiots in Obs were doing I'll never know � oh very well, you can go!" she exclaimed finally, stepping back from the bed with a frown. "Just don't get anyone killed, or I'll have no sympathy for you when you're back in here."
"Yeah whatever." Duo levered himself upright again, cocking his head at Heero. "We outta here or what, Yuy?"
Heero had to lead the way out of the hospital, since Duo hadn't been in any shape to notice things like corridors and directions when they'd been shunted around the previous night. They passed Hilde and Trowa sitting in the A-and-E waiting room, but there was no sign of Wu Fei. Duo felt shamefully grateful for the reprieve; he had no idea how he was going to face Chang as it was. It wasn't like he'd set the charges, but he'd been the one Sally had put herself into danger for, damn it.
The streets surrounding the hospital were eerily deserted, shrouded in semi-darkness lit only by the occasional street lamp or neon sign. Duo revised his estimation of local time to somewhere closer to three AM, lifting his wrist to check the chrono before remembering that it had been damaged in the blast. Heero at least seemed to know where he was going, anyway; Duo followed a few metres behind as they wove through narrow streets towards the clockwise colony wall.
As they made their way into the thickening haze of dust and smoke that surrounded the previous day's operational target, Duo kept a wary eye on Heero's stance. His partner was relaxed but wary, the tension in his shoulders tightening a little as they came into streets that Duo recognised.
"Holy shit," Duo muttered, blinking as he took in the damage that had been done to the administrative buildings. Although the central structure was whole, smoke billowed from a number of windows, and firefighters were still on the scene. More alarming was the fact that the entire right-hand wing of the building was gutted and crumpled in on itself. That's where we were? I guess it could have been worse after all�
"I thought you were dead when the charges detonated." Heero didn't turn to face him, but Duo could see the tension in his whole body as he continued striding towards the vacant lot where they'd left the Inferno. "It took us almost three hours to find you."
"Crap." Duo picked up the pace a little, fingering the cuts on his face before rubbing gingerly at the matted lump on the back of his skull. Shit, they must have been having fits. And Chang � damn, I should have done something. Quite what there might have been to do he wasn't really sure, but there should have been something. There should� "Hey."
"Hm?" Heero turned back for a moment, acknowledging him with a single raised eyebrow. Even this late at night Duo could see the lines of concentration and tension furrowing his brow; it made him want to reach out and touch, to smooth them away, but�
"What the hell was the point in blowing the place anyway?" Damn, this alleyway smelt familiar; Duo wrinkled his nose and breathed through his mouth.
"They damn near took out two Preventer Agents." Heero's voice was� cold. There was no other word for it, and Duo winced.
"Yeah, but� damn. Hold on a second�" They'd made it back to the lot, but he'd forgotten about the hyper jammers. Fishing his cellphone from his pocket, he shook it hopefully. "Crap. Heero, can I borrow�?"
"Here." Heero handed over his phone without comment; Duo gave him an absent grin before squinting down at the keypad, entering the security codes he needed to send.
"Thanks. But how the hell did they know we'd be there, and why did they take the risk? They just got themselves one hell of a high profile, and that doesn't fit with their MO so far."
"So� you think they were destroying evidence?" Heero was turning slowly in place, on hand on his hip holster as he kept watch.
"You gotta admit it's a theory. There." Duo pressed the connection button, watching the display until transmission was confirmed. After a long, uncomfortable moment there was a wavering in the air ahead as the hyper jammers phased out and the Inferno faded back into the visible spectrum.
"Evidence of what?" Heero took the phone from Duo's outstretched hand as they jogged towards the sleek black shuttle, stowing it neatly in a pocket.
"How the fuck should I know?" Duo bent to jump but was forestalled by a hand on his shoulder a moment before Heero sprang, catching the edge of the still-open airlock and hauling himself up.
"Corruption? Government collaborators? Here." Heero knelt, reaching down to clasp Duo's hand and effortlessly swing him up. The contact felt warm, comfortable and safe; for a long moment Duo didn't want to let go. Yesterday morning, sprawled in his partner's arms in bed, seemed as far away as Jupiter's moons.
"Gotta be something; that's not a risk I'd take for no reason, and you guys are always telling me I'm bomb-happy." Duo squeezed past Heero into the airlock proper, keying the passcode without really thinking about it. Most of his mind was occupied with rearranging the main cabin for medical float lockdown and ICU installation. Damn good thing this wasn't Earth; he didn't want to think about the effects of leaving gravity on a patient. "Here, Yuy, go start the preflights. I'm gonna sort out the cabin."
Heero blinked at him for long enough to make Duo wonder whether the tiredness wasn't getting to him too. "You sure?" was all he said, finally, glancing at the cockpit door then beck to Duo, eyes flitting over him in a vaguely uncomfortable way.
"You know how I work," was all Duo said, already rummaging in a storage locker for the extra safety straps. There was space enough in the centre of the large cabin area, but he'd have to get the locking bolt kit out of the hold� should probably bring up the big medkit too; it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Damn, we're gonna have to use the ramp platform here�
Heero had disappeared into the cockpit, taking his distractions with him. Duo frowned at the deck plating, planning where he'd site the bolts for the ICU unit. Zero-G wouldn't be workable with Sa � with a patient in transit (just try and get through it, Maxwell; you can fall apart later), but maybe point-five� Yeah, time to get on with this already.
The proximity alarm pinged through the speaker just as Duo finished securing the final bolt system to the deck. Grimacing at the ache in his joints, he pushed upright and wound his way over to the main cabin airlock, spinning the failsafe locks by hand to blow both hatches at once.
"Hey, Duo!" Hilde's voice hailed from below; he poked his head out to see her lugging a huge medipack towards the airlock. "Get the lift down here, will you?"
"Gimme a second!" he yelled back, flipping switches and toggling off alarms. Although the cargo airlock doors in the hold had a ramp for loading and unloading, the cabin airlock was set a little higher and only had an emergency debarkation slide; he'd had to mess with the settings some, and Heero was probably getting warning lights all over the place in the cockpit.
The ramp extended slowly; by the time it was halfway to the ground Heero had poked his head around the cockpit door, eyeballing the situation with a grimace for the ambulance parked on the ground below. There was something � Duo frowned at the worried look on his face, but the sound of footsteps distracted him.
"Hey." Duo grinned wearily as Hilde charged up the ramp, setting her pack down in the nearest seat with a sigh of relief. Trowa followed more slowly, a fluorescent-suited EMT tech at his heels who immediately accosted Duo for explanations. By the time he turned back Heero had retreated into the cockpit, the door firmly shut. Duo eyed the door for a moment, then turned back and almost immediately wished he hadn't.
Two more EMTs and a haggard-looking Wu Fei were escorting the floatbed up the ramp to the cabin, walking as though on eggshells. The ICU unit itself was self-contained, but hung about with so many saline and blood bags that it could have belonged in any operating theatre. The entire top section of the unit was transparent from head to foot; Sally lay within looking shrunken and pallid, as though she might as well be already dead. Wu Fei's face as he looked down at her� Duo turned away with a curse strangled on his lips, slamming the cockpit door open far too roughly and stalking inside.
"Duo?" Heero looked up at him in surprise from the co-pilot's chair, a datareader in his hands in place of the usual laptop.
"Ready for launch?" Duo all but flung himself into his own chair, running his eyes across the screens. Everything looked good�
"All systems in working order." Heero's voice was� Duo could tell that something was wrong, but damn it his fingers couldn't seem to work the buckles�
"Here." He looked up in surprise into Heero's blank face, choking back swearwords. The Japanese Agent crouched before him, taking the safety straps from Duo's fumbling fingers and fastening them effortlessly. Duo stared into his deep-dark eyes for a long moment, the only thoughts in his head wondering how Heero could be so calm right now. For a long moment, they looked at each other, Duo at a complete loss and Heero giving nothing away.
"Quatre sent a message," Heero said at last, on the end of a sigh, his fingers brushing across Duo's shoulder as he stood, returning to the co-pilot's seat. "It took me a while to decode, but it increases the urgency of our return trip."
"Decode�? Oh God." For Quatre to bother with codes on a secure Preventer line meant that this was very serious indeed. Duo closed his eyes, fingers flickering automatically across his control boards as he waited for the worst. Somewhere behind them, there was the sound of the airlock sealing, and Trowa's voice called an all-clear.
"They've linked the abductions with the smuggling case, and from what Quatre said, a single organisation could be behind everything we're dealing with right now." Heero had his gaze fixed on the vernier readout screens, refusing to look at Duo. "From what he carefully didn't say, we could be dealing with a full-scale political insurrection in a matter of weeks."
back~*~next