"Before we get seriously sidetracked
onto the subject of Duo flashing people or exactly how many sets of twins there
are in the Assink family--"
"Three," Ninke muttered
quietly.
"--I think we should find out exactly what you meant when
you said your grandmother intends to 'place the Yggdrasil ring at our
disposal'," Quatre continued determinedly. "Also, how active is it? What sort of
reach have you got? What have you been doing since the war?"
<
< I want to find out how active Nicklaus and Nils are in this ring, > >
Wufei said seriously. < < They're Preventers. Have they been
passing classified information out of the organisation? > >
"No,"
Ninke said seriously, shaking his head. "They took the secrecy oath and meant
it. They have passed information to the rest of us, but only unclassified
data. The, er, security video of Duo is a special case; Nicklaus said he had
reason to believe that copies of it are already making the rounds of several
agents' families and friends."
< < But most of the information
passed to the Doctors during the war had to come from OZ internal
communications, > > Wufei pointed out. < < To get it, one or more of
you almost had to be working for OZ... and they had secrecy oaths as
well. > >
Ninke smiled. "I'm almost tempted to say 'I had my
fingers crossed', but this is a serious subject..."
"You
worked for OZ?!" Quatre asked sharply.
"Yes, sir, I suppose you could
say I did, and so did three of my brothers," his assistant said calmly. "I
divided my time between the Communications and the Records sections, which meant
that when it became obvious that the war was almost over, I could lift our
personnel jackets out of the files and wipe all the computer records that said
we were ever OZ soldiers; then we just vanished. That's why it never came up in
my employment history," Ninke said dryly. "To get back to Mr. Chang's point...
yes, we did take the loyalty and secrecy oaths. However, technically we
weren't working for OZ. We regarded ourselves as on the other side,
working against OZ, so the oaths meant nothing to us. Our first
loyalty was to an equitable peace for Earth and the colonies, which the Doctors,
the Gundam pilots and Relena Peacecraft had the best chance of achieving,
not OZ. We are not opposed to the Preventers, however. Quite the
opposite. That's part of the reason why we decided to work for you. Through you,
we'll be working with the Preventers, and if the rest of us can get clearance,
there won't be any conflict of interests for Nicklaus and Nils. They won't have
the problem they have now, where sometimes they come across information relating
to a 'situation' Grandmother Matilde is... interested in, but they can't pass it
on because it's classified. They will also be able to pass Yggdrasil
information to the Preventers, without having to explain their sources,
protecting our anonymity; or they can let you pass it on and pretend to
have nothing to do with it."
"Why not work directly for the Preventers,
then?" Trowa asked.
Ninke's smile twisted slightly. "We don't work for
organisations, sir, they're too... changeable; we work for individuals.
Grandmother Matilde trusts in your motives, goals and honour to ensure that our
information is put to the best use. Some day, it might be best not to
give it to the Preventers."
"Not to mention that 'civilians' can get more
and varied information than known agents," Karl added.
There was a
moment's silence before Quatre spoke. "So, during the war... you considered
yourselves to be working for the Doctors, not their organisation or the
colonies?"
"Yes, and they didn't choose us, we chose to work for
them."
"Grandmother Matilde chose, anyway," Karl muttered, grinning.
Ninke casually swatted his younger brother in the back of his head, and
continued.
"In fact, to the best of our knowledge, they never worked out
who we were. We communicated with them through blind drops and some
incredibly twisty electronic channels."
"I tried to trace some of
your messages," Heero said abruptly. "J was going nearly insane with curiosity.
I didn't get far. That habit you had of routing your data packets through Swiss
banks, disguised as transaction information, caused me a lot of
trouble."
"They are very protective of their data," Ninke murmured
politely. "We're getting off track again, though; Mr. Winner asked what we're
offering you, among other things, and I think I should get to that."
"We
would like to do for you what we did for the Doctors; gather and analyze
information on our own, and pass on anything that might be of interest to you.
If you come across an indication that something might be worth investigation, of
course we'll follow it up, but frankly, we work best when we direct our own
lines of inquiry. It would help immensely if you organised clearance and access
to Preventers intelligence reports for us, but we certainly don't require it. We
also don't require payment."
"...what?"
Ninke's polite
smile widened. "We all have other jobs, and the family as a whole is quite well
supported. You weren't the only ones abstracting money from OZ accounts during
the war, and before that we were bleeding the Alliance... besides which, we're
not doing this for the money. We're doing this because we all believe that you
have to work towards the world you want, not just sit around and say 'well,
somebody ought to do something!' And it's fun. This sort of work
is in our blood; it's as necessary as breathing to us, I
think."
"That's... an interesting point of view," Relena said slowly.
"Several of my security guards think that way. Georg always says they're the
best ones..."
The discussion continued for a while longer before breaking
for dinner, but the Assinks had already made their point. Their skills,
experience and contacts would be incredibly useful to the
Preventers-- even if they were insisting on (mostly) not working
for the peacekeeping agency. Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Relena were all
making quiet plans to check up on the Assink family's past history, but none of
them seriously expected to find anything unacceptable.
* * * *
*
In another part of town, Sally and Une were settling into chairs at
their usual table in King O'Malley's, drinks in hand.
Sally politely
smothered a yawn behind one hand. "Uff... I swear, I don't think I sat down
after ten this morning. Was it my imagination, or did it get incredibly busy the
moment Duo and Wufei left?"
"It wasn't your imagination," Une said,
surreptitiously kicking her shoes off under the table and wriggling her toes. "I
would be inclined to think it was the universe punishing you for tormenting
Chang about his 'love life', but why would your karmic burden result in
more work for me?"
"Instant karma splashes?" Sally suggested. "Can we be
bothered cooking tonight, or do you want to eat here?"
"Here," Une said
definitely. "When we get home, the only thing I want to do before getting into
bed is have a hot bath. And speaking of Chang and Maxwell--"
"Were
we?"
"We are now. You never did give me a proper report on
their condition. 'They'll be fine' lacks a certain something that I'm used to
getting in reports. What was it again...?" She stared into space for a moment,
sipping at her drink, then nodded. "Ah, yes. Details."
Sally
chuckled and reached for a menu. "Wufei does have a very pretty crack
through his shoulderblade, as I thought, as well as a wrenched knee and an
impressive collection of bruises. Another couple of days of rest, however, and
he can safely go onto light duties. Duo is still making slow but steady
progress; he's not improving as quickly as I'd like, but he is improving
as quickly as can be expected under the circumstances."
"You said that
last time you gave him a checkup," Une pointed out.
"It was true the last
time, too. Running around in sub-freezing temperatures on a mission of vengeance
doesn't exactly count as 'resting'."
"No... I see your point," Une
murmured into her glass. "What caused his somnolent state this morning? Will
that have any adverse effects on him?"
Sally's smile widened and
she chuckled again. "No. I was a bit worried, I'll admit, but apparently
Christmas Day was rather tiring as well and it pushed him past the end of his
reserves. That's just how he reacts when he's exhausted or sleep-deprived. He
calls it 'zombie mode'."
Une raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that rather a
liability for someone in his-- er-- previous
profession?"
"Not really. By the time Duo goes zombie, almost anyone else
would have collapsed days before. He can still function if he has to--
admittedly, in a limited fashion-- and he won't drop into that state
unless he considers himself safe."
"You've seen him like this before, I
take it?"
"Oh, yes. Only once, but it was a memorable
occasion..."
~*~*~*~
Climbing into bed with a hot drink clutched
in one hand, cursing the fact that her tiny apartment 'safehouse' had no
insulation and almost no heating, Sally snuggled down into the warm blankets
with a sigh. A couple of minutes with her feet planted on her hot water bottle,
and she might even stop shivering...
There was a loud knock on the
door.
Even if that's not somebody from OZ, I may shoot first and patch
them up later, Sally thought sourly, putting her drink on the floor and
groping for the gun under her pillow. Or not patch them up, she
amended, wincing as her feet hit the floor. Even through two pairs of socks, it
was freezing.
The knock was repeated as she moved out of the
bedroom. "I'm coming!" she yelled, gun lifting to point at the door. "Who is
it?"
"Us," a flat voice answered.
"Ah, Mister Talkative," Sally
muttered, relaxing slightly. "I should have guessed."
Once she got the
multiple locks open, she threw open the door and glared at the two pilots on the
doorstep. Duo was seemingly asleep, leaning heavily on Heero, not even twitching
an eyelid. "I might have known it was you," she snapped, giving them a quick
visual once-over after checking up and down the corridor. They look
exhausted, but there's no visible wounds or bandages. Good. "I only know
five people with timing this bad."
"We're supposed to have it,"
Heero informed her, shifting his grip on Duo to a slightly more secure one.
"It's called 'the element of surprise'."
"You're supposed to do it to
your enemies."
"I'm practicing. Now, let us in before I drop
Duo."
"First things first," she sighed, stepping to one side to let them
past, and then closing the door. "Do we need to leave in a hurry or are we
secure?"
"Secure," Heero grunted, walking Duo over to the sofa and
sitting him down. "We lost our tail four hours ago."
"Second thing. Are
you staying here or just passing through for treatment?"
"Staying. Four
or five days."
"Okay. Third thing. There is only one hot water bottle,
and it is mine."
Heero raised an eyebrow and looked her up and
down. Flannel pyjamas, quilted dressing gown (with an automatic pistol tucked in
the belt), thick socks... "You look warm enough."
"I'm not," Sally
snapped, tucking her hands into her armpits and shivering. "There was ice in the
toilet bowl this morning! I am not tough enough to wear spandex in all
climates, damn it, and God only knows how you keep everything functional
in temperatures like these... at least Duo wears long sleeves and pants! And
yes, I can see that you're not wearing spandex now, but I bet you would
be if it wouldn't attract attention. The hot water bottle is mine. Live with it.
Are you two hurt?"
He blinked. "No."
"Good. Hot
chocolate?"
"Yes. ...please," he added when she glared.
"Fine.
Coming right up. Blankets and quilts are in that closet, take as many as you
need, there's plenty."
When Sally came back out of the tiny kitchenette
with a steaming mug in each hand, she paused for a moment as she saw Duo still
slumped on the couch in the exact same position. "Duo?"
"He's asleep,"
Heero said, pulling bedding out of the closet and arranging it on the
floor.
"...oh. Duo? Wake up, Duo. Hot chocolate... Duo?"
"Give me
one of those," Heero said brusquely, getting up and moving to sit by his friend.
"You won't wake him up like that." Holding Duo's head steady with one hand, he
guided the mug to Duo's lips; Sally watched in amazement as the braided teen
drank without twitching an eyelid.
"He drinks in his
sleep?"
Heero snorted, slowly tilting the mug. "For the next
couple of days, he'll be doing everything in his sleep."
Sally
watched, bemused, as Heero put down the mug, got Duo up on his feet,
half-stripped him and got him under the covers without Duo opening his eyes,
or-- more surprisingly-- his
mouth.
~*~*~*~
"And he was right," Sally
told Une, rattling the last ice cube around the bottom of her glass. "I swear,
for forty-eight hours, Duo did not open his eyes. He ate in his sleep, he drank
in his sleep, he showered in his sleep-- well, Heero showered him, but
you get the idea. He even went to the toilet in his sleep!"
"With
guidance, I hope," Une murmured, eyes a little wider than
usual.
"Definitely," Sally said, "and that's another job I wouldn't share
with Heero. I told him that if he didn't help Duo to the toilet, I was
going to diaper him until he woke up. He considered it for about thirty seconds,
until he realised what Duo's reaction would be to waking up in a
nappy."
Une nearly choked trying not to laugh out loud, but waved her
hand at Sally to go on.
"Well, that lasted two days. On the third
day--"
"Duo rose?" Une sputtered.
"Oh ha ha," Sally
retorted, mouth twitching as she suppressed a smile. "Sort of; he was still at
least half asleep. The next day he was fine. Apparently they'd been on some kind
of observation mission for two weeks, that really needed four people to properly
cover everything they needed to watch. They'd had about two hours of rest a
night, then laid a trap and led the pursuit over a few hundred miles of nowhere
in particular. Heero said Duo was fine until they reached my building and
confirmed it wasn't being watched; then he just keeled over onto Heero's
shoulder in the elevator."
"Heero Yui took an elevator? My goodness, he
was slipping," Une said, dabbing at her teary eyes with a
tissue.
"So, how was your day? Apart from busy?"
"Some parts of it
were interesting, at least-- oh, yes, that reminds me. The next time you
have Chang in for a checkup, I need to talk to him. We'll be ready to proceed
against Anders as soon as Wufei presses charges. I was going to start the
paperwork this morning, after he came back from x-ray, but I
forgot."
"You forgot something?" Sally purred. "My goodness, you
are slipping."
"I was distracted," Une said loftily, thinking of
the moment when she'd discovered that Duo now seemed to trust her.
"You've done it yourself."
"True. How is Anders? I haven't been called to
the cells, so I assume he's physically well enough... more's the
pity."
"Surprisingly meek and well-behaved, actually, and I don't think
he's putting on an act. He twitches every time someone comes into the
cells, until he sees who it is; then he relaxes. Even if it's me," Une added
dryly. "Duo's little visit seems to have had a serious effect on
him."
"Really? This, I have to see," Sally said, eyes sparkling.
"And it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy..."
"Sally, you're an evil
woman sometimes."
"I try."
* * * * *
Duo was quiet again
that evening; Wufei wasn't sure whether it was because he'd heard Heero and was
brooding, or because he was thinking about the fact that he'd first flashed one
stranger and then fallen asleep on another.
Or he could be thinking
about the Yggdrasil Ring and the war, Wufei thought, watching Duo's
thoughtful expression out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to read.
Or the kiss...
I'm not going to ask!
Duo
sighed and leaned back, nestled against Wufei's shoulder.
"Fei?"
"Yes?"
"Read to me?"
Wufei blinked, then smiled,
shifting around so that he could put his good arm around Duo and still hold the
book. "Certainly," he said quietly, gathering Duo's braid into the hand that was
still strapped to his chest as he turned back to the beginning of the
volume.
----------
Later, as they were drifting off to sleep,
Wufei pulled Duo close and gently rubbed his cheek against the soft
bangs.
Sooner or later, we've got to discuss our... relationship,
he thought, closing his eyes. Not talking about it, making assumptions,
that was what screwed up our lives to begin with.
Once Duo's
better. I'll tell him how I feel once he's better, and ask him... ask him if
he's sure he wants me.
"Wo ai ni, Duo[1]," he whispered, so quietly
that he almost didn't hear it himself.
* * * * *
Five minutes
after Une sat down at her desk the next morning, her vidphone
chimed.
"Une speaking-- ah, Winner. To what do I owe this
call?"
She flicked a quick glance sideways at her computer clock,
confirming that yes, it was only ten to eight. Quatre never calls this
early; I know he works even longer hours than I do, but he doesn't like making
it obvious. What's happened?
< < Lady Une, > > Quatre
said, nodding politely. < < Are you available for a meeting at my estate
sometime today? > >
Her eyebrows rose. "This is very short
notice. How long a meeting? With whom?"
< < You, Major Po, myself,
Trowa, Heero, Relena, Wufei, and possibly Duo... and as many members of the
Assink family as we can get together, > > Quatre listed. < < The
meeting is likely to be a long one; I'm afraid I can't narrow it down any more
than that. > >
"The Assink family?"
The blond
teenager nodded, one corner of his mouth twitching. < < They're the
subject of the meeting. > >
"Oh?" Une's eyes narrowed and she sat
back, one hand lifting to her chin as she thought. "I worked with a Captain Erik
Assink during the war. We have an Agent Assink-- no two-- in the
Preventers. Your new assistant is an Assink..."
< < Relena's, too,
> > Quatre noted.
"It's not an enormously common name. They're all
related?"
< < Brothers. > >
"And they are the subject
of this proposed meeting because...?" She let the sentence trail off, looking at
Quatre expectantly.
< < This is only a medium security line, >
> he pointed out.
She stared at him for a moment, then reached out and
pressed an intercom button. "McKenzie?"
< < Yes, ma'am? >
>
"Reschedule all my afternoon appointments and meetings, please," Une
said, never taking her eyes off of Quatre's image. "I will be in a
different meeting, at Mr. Winner's estate, and will be leaving at 1 pm.
Please inform Major Po and Agent Assink that I will be expecting them to join
me." She cut the intercom and raised an eyebrow at Quatre. "The other
Agent Assink is posted to L3, so we can't realistically expect him here in time
to attend. I presume you'll be bringing your Assinks?"
< <
Most definitely. Thank you. > >
"You've managed to get me
very curious," she said dryly. "We'll be there."
* * * *
*
Quatre keyed in another number and sat back, fingers tapping on the
desk as it rang... and rang...
"They're not answering," he said, frowning
slightly.
"Duo and Wufei?" Trowa asked, looking up from his chair. "It's
barely eight o'clock and they've got no reason to get up early. They're probably
still asleep."
"Well, yes, but I don't think Wufei is physically capable
of sleeping in unless he's really exhausted... oh, well, I can just leave
another message--"
The screen flickered, and Duo
appeared.
< < Um... Quatre, > > he said quietly, looking
away.
"Duo! It's good to see you again," Quatre blurted, surprised. "How
are you?"
< < I'm fine. Wufei's having a bath. I'll have him call
you back, > > Duo replied, reaching towards the keypad.
"No, no,
don't hang up, please! Er, there's a meeting at my house at 1 pm, about the
Assinks, and we'd like you to be there. You don't have to come if you really
don't want to, of course," he hastened to add, "but I'd really appreciate it.
Lady Une and Sally will be here. I'll send one of the Manguanacs to pick you up,
if that's all right."
< < Hang on, > > Duo said, getting up
and walking out of pickup range.
Quatre blinked, then a broad smile
spread over his face. "He's wearing the boxers I bought him!" he said happily,
leaning around the vidphone and beaming at Trowa. "The 'Salad Dressing' ones!"
Trowa snorted. "The ones with the vegetables getting dressed? And which
ones are you wearing?"
"If you hadn't gone for a walk this
morning, instead of taking a shower with me, like I suggested, you'd already
know." Quatre said archly, tipping his nose up into the air. "You'll just have
to wait to find out."
"If I'd showered with you, we'd still be in the
suite," Trowa muttered.
"Would that be so bad? You keep telling me I
should spend less time working, after all..."
----------
Duo
tapped on the bathroom door, then opened it a little and leaned through. "Need a
hand?"
"I will with my hair," Wufei grumbled, splashing slightly as he
tried to handle the soap and the washcloth with only one hand. "And I want
waterproof bandages! People can build Gundams and space colonies and blow huge
chunks off planets! Why can't they make waterproof bandages?"
"Um...
Quatre's on the phone. He wants to have a meeting about the Assinks this
afternoon. Are we going?"
Wufei looked up, a faint worried crease
appearing between his eyebrows. "Do you feel up to it?"
Duo shrugged one
shoulder, looking away. "If you're going, I'm going."
"... All right,"
Wufei said slowly. "Are we being picked up?"
"Quatre said he'd send a
Mangaunac, but I'd rather drive."
The Chinese teen's mouth opened, then
snapped shut as he bit back an automatic objection. "Very well, if you prefer
it," he said quietly. "If the meeting is tiring, we can get a lift
back...?"
Duo nodded, glancing back at Wufei and smiling for just a
moment. "Okay. I'll go and tell Quatre we're coming."
* * * *
*
Stepping out of her car, Sally scowled up at the grey, cloudy sky.
"It's going to snow again," she muttered, then raised her voice. "Did you say
Duo was coming to this meeting?"
"Quatre said he might," Une told
her, closing the passenger-side door.
"Well, he shouldn't. The weather's
turning bad, and I doubt he's ready to see all of the other Gu-- er, boys
yet." She stuttered to a halt, eyeing the third person getting out of the
car.
Nicklaus straightened up and cleared his throat. "I, ah, do know
that they're all Gundam pilots, ma'am."
"You do? How-- oh."
Sally lightly slapped her forehead. "The security camera feed from Duo's little
'conversation' with Anders, of course. Damn."
He coughed. "Well, yes,
there was that, but--"
The front door opened and Quatre came out.
"Come in, out of the cold!" he called. "Heero and Relena are already here; we're
just waiting for Duo and Wufei, and another Assink or two."
"Duo's
coming?" Sally asked sharply, moving towards the steps. "He's supposed to
be resting!"
"Well I certainly wasn't going to tell him I didn't
want him to come!" Quatre replied, just as sharply. "One, it wouldn't be true.
Two, this affects him just as much as the rest of us. Three, it would hardly be
a step towards getting him to forgive us!"
"You've got a point," Sally
muttered begrudgingly.
"I've got several points," he muttered
back.
"What other Assinks are we expecting?" Une asked, raising an
eyebrow at Nicklaus as they followed Sally.
"I honestly don't know,
ma'am," he said. "Mr. Winner?"
"Ninke said two or three of your brothers
are coming, but he's not sure which ones," Quatre said, ushering them towards
the door. "I believe your father can't get away from his company just
now--"
Wufei's Blazer came up the driveway and parked beside
Sally's car.
"They're both determined to make themselves worse!"
Sally said incredulously. "I told Chang not to drive!"
"It looks
like he listened," Nicklaus observed quietly as Duo got out of the driver's side
door.
"Duo!" Sally yelled. "Did you at least bring--"
Duo
pulled his inhaler out of a pocket and waved it at her as he moved around to
help Wufei out of the passenger's seat, and she deflated slightly.
"Well,
that's something at least," she grumbled. "And he seems to be wearing properly
warm clothing this time..."
----------
It was a fairly
uncomfortable group that gathered around the table in the breakfast room. Duo
sat next to Wufei, hands twisted around his braid in his lap, looking at the
floor; he'd responded with quiet monosyllables when Quatre and Relena greeted
him, then stiffened and had gone silent when Heero had ventured to say hello. As
a result, Heero was sitting as far away from Duo and Wufei as the seating
arrangements permitted, completely expressionless, flicking the occasional
glance in their direction. Une and Sally were making polite conversation with
Relena, Trowa and Quatre, pretending they hadn't noticed anything, and the three
Assinks were avoiding any awkwardness by standing at the window watching for
their brothers.
"Oh, here they are," Karl said with relief tinging his
voice as a limousine pulled up. The sound of the car doors opening and closing
could be faintly heard through the thick bulletproof glass in the windows.
"There's Janne and Joost... and Erik... and--" A strangled squeak escaped
him, and he took a step sideways to stand behind his taller brothers. "Oh boy.
Oma's[2] here!"
Nicklaus cleared his throat and turned around, looking at
Wufei. "So she is... Sir? If you remember, I said I was sure you'd get to meet
my Grandmother Matilde some day? Well, today seems to be the day..."
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