Duo 3, Heero 2 - Veiled Intent

Those few hours later, Heero stood on the massive leg of his Aries and looked out over the snowy peaks of the Himalayas. The air was terribly thin here and he felt slightly light-headed, but that didn’t bother him.

The sky is so blue, he thought, surprising himself. Why should he care what color the sky was? He shoved the whole train of thought out of his head and thought about his mission. The contact isn’t here...hasn’t been for a while. Heero silently cursed and climbed back inside the cockpit. Leave it to OZ to have completely unreliable information.

He had to find that Gundam, and he had to find it quickly. Zechs wouldn’t like him out for very long, and he’d already have enough explaining to do when he got back. He didn’t need tardiness on top of it.

As he went through the activation sequence, a sharp series of beeps told Heero a communication was coming through. A tiny window popped up and the random-comm-officer-of-the-week started speaking.

“Lieutenant Yuy, we have received information on your contact...he’s in Southern China as of the last report,” the soldier said in a nasal voice as information poured onto Heero’s screen, confirming what he said.

“Why was I not told of this earlier?” Heero said flatly.

“Apparently, an MS group engaged him and lost. They were reluctant to tell us of their failure.”

“Figures. Yuy out.” Heero cut off the transmission before the soldier could respond.

Southern China. Not too far. It would take him a short amount of time to get there. Heero used the new information and laid in a course.

Time to meet one of my comrades.

It was a lovely day in southern China. The mists were drifting in soft silken curtains across dark-leaved trees, smearing the sharp black lines like water on ink.

The mist wasn't quite enough. Duo cursed softly as he wrestled with the camouflage net. As usual, the bulky sensor-resistant material was reluctant to unfold and even more reluctant to settle neatly across the black Gundam. He had barely finished covering the huge legs when a distant roar warned him.

The search parties can't have found me already! he thought, shading his eyes with one hand as he scanned the sky. There was a black speck in the distance, but he couldn't be sure whether it was a mobile suit or just a bird. He had to be sure. Swearing, he caught a handhold on Shinigami's scarred armor and hauled himself up.

Settling into the cockpit, he tapped the passive sensors and quickly focused in on the speck. It was definitely a mobile suit of OZ design. Space Aries, he thought. Approaching fast and alone, like a dark bird of prey instead of the flock of vultures that the suits reminded him of in a group.

"Look at that, Shini," he said out loud, pulling his chair straps tight around his shoulders and securing them. "Just one suit. They're underestimating me." With a deadly grin, he activated the engines. The birds fell silent as the black Gundam's ascent tore through the misty veils, accelerating toward his unsuspecting prey.

The MS turned with predatory grace and dodged Duo's slicing thermal scythe. "What the hell?" Duo said aloud, surprised. "He's good!"

The suit backed yet more to avoid his following slashes, not retreating but staying out of reach. Its movements were always just enough to avoid the blade, mocking Duo with its easy evasion. Incredulous anger filled him, and he pushed the Gundam's jury-rigged engines as far as he dared, dodging in to strike. Always a moment too late. The other pilot seemed to read his mind.

"Damn you!" he yelled, furious, aimed at the suit, and released the smaller thermal blade concealed in Shini's arm. The other pilot dodged, still undamaged, and closed with him.

A sizzle of static hissed in the cockpit, and an image appeared in the corner of Duo's screens. He spared it a glance, and his certain purpose lost its balance and fell into oblivion. Cobalt eyes like burning ice bored into his. The OZ pilot wore a dark, formal officer's uniform, which clashed with the disarray of his walnut-brown hair, but the strength in his face and the fire in those eyes defied anyone who might think the contrast comical.

Duo wasn't laughing. He was torn between trying to scrape his jaw off the floor and keeping his Gundam in the air.

"Stop fighting," the OZ pilot snapped, his voice carrying the arrogance of someone who'd never even considered that he might be disobeyed.

The authority in the other's voice raised every one of Duo's street-kid instincts. He gave the disconcertingly beautiful stranger a heartless grin, hiding his new uncertainty under the accustomed mask. Defiance either convinced your opponent you knew what you were doing or scared them off. He didn't really expect it to work on this pilot, though. Who is he anyway? He's too good to be a rookie, and I don't recognize him. I thought Professor G had files on all the OZ muckety-mucks-

"Don't be a fool," the other pilot said, his cold, self-assured voice chilling a few more degrees.

Duo, suddenly angry, hissed, "You think I'm gonna obey an OZ robot? No way. See you in Hell!"

Taking advantage of the other pilot's distraction, he lunged in, scythe at the ready. It barely scratched the Aries's armor before the OZ suit eluded his reach and brought its gun up. The first shot struck precisely on Shinigami's newly repaired sensors. An explosion rocked the Gundam, and Duo, cursing, switched the active sensors on. They were inefficient, developed from the old radar system, giving him only a sketchy idea of the objects around him.

For instance, the Aries to his side, with its gun raised. Duo cut at it randomly with his scythe, his teeth gritted. He did not like fighting blind, and this was way too close to blindness-

The next shot hit his engines, and half the cockpit lights turned red. That bastard! He's going for all my repairs.

The face sizzled back into view, now the only clear image on his screens. Duo resolutely avoided looking at the other pilot.

"Your suit is disabled. Surrender," he ordered.

It was not advice that Duo ever intended to take. He snarled wordlessly. I can't keep fighting, he'll take me apart, he realized reluctantly, and shot the other pilot a glare. It couldn't compete with the cobalt-eyed officer's glower, but it was quite sincere.

"We'll finish this later!" he promised, and tapped his remaining engine for all the energy it would deliver. The sudden acceleration caught the Aries's pilot off guard, and Duo milked the lead for all he could get. As soon as he had a safe margin, he made for the valley he'd marked as a good hiding place. It was hard to make out the terrain, with only the luminescent green outlines that the active sensors allowed him, but he thought he recognized the twin hills to his left. Dropping to barely treetop level, teeth gritted, he turned sharply. He was right; the valley was there, with its wide waterfall and the deep hollow behind the curtain of water.

Not ideal. But I left the camouflage net back at my last hiding spot. At least this'll offer some concealment. He slowed, letting the overstressed engine cool, and dove through the waterfall in one neat movement. The cave behind was deep enough to hold Shinigami without difficulty, although he might not find it so easy to get out. Of course, that depended on whether it was possible to even fly his Gundam in its current shape.

It was easy to follow the damaged Gundam’s movements from a distance. Heero watched as the black suit swooped uncertainly into a valley, then plunged almost headfirst into a waterfall. His eyes widened when it first hit, but he relaxed when it disappeared behind the water instead of crashing into rock.

Why do I care what happens to him? It wasn’t like Heero couldn’t do himself what he was going to ask that pilot to do. Besides, if that suit did a kamikaze into the side of a mountain, it would be a fitting end to the cocky bastard. He wouldn’t be the first or the last to die in this.

Damn...why did that thought turn Heero’s stomach?! He’d been trained to accept death, as he was sure the other pilots had been as well. He was ready to accept it, but why wouldn’t he accept it for others? It just didn’t make sense...

During his musings, Heero had followed the Gundam into the valley and landed outside the waterfall. He blinked, realizing he was on solid ground, then opened the cockpit to the crisp air outside.

After he checked the extra additions he’d put on the Aries before leaving headquarters, Heero grabbed the parachute from the back of the cockpit and climbed out of the prone mobile suit. He looked up at the waterfall, the cool spray gently hitting his face.

Without another thought, Heero started up to the mouth of the cave.

Duo unsealed his restraints and opened the cockpit, reaching up for a handhold to pull himself out. One touch and he yanked his hands back, swearing. The metal skin of the Gundam had been heated enough to boil water by his speed. He looked at his hands, wincing as he saw the telltale red-edged white marks that would become a lovely set of blisters.

"Shit," he said succinctly, rummaged around in the cargo compartment under the controls, and pulled out a few grease-stained rags. They were thick enough for makeshift gloves. Wrapping them around his fingers, he managed to get a hold on the metal and leapt up. Shifting from foot to foot, he dropped the two rags back down into the cockpit and quickly jumped off Shinigami.

He staggered a little as he landed on the rough stone floor of the cave, and turned toward his Gundam. It didn't look very good. The first explosion had made scrap metal of his much-patched sensor system, and there was no way he'd get it operable again without real parts and real tools. Which he didn't have.

Swearing again, he stalked around for a look at the damaged engine. It looked even worse than the sensors; the black hole was bigger and there was more torn metal twisted around the edges. There wasn't any more left of the delicate, specialized system than there was of his sensors.

He'd run out of profanity. Muttering grimly, he stalked over to the edge of the cave and sat down, the light spray misting down onto his face as he glared out at the rainbowed wall of water. The OZ pilot was a complete and utter jerk. First telling him to surrender, then dancing around to mock him without fighting, and then destroying repairs that had taken him weeks in just two shots-

He hated the other boy!

So why couldn't he get those eyes out of his mind?

With a groan, Duo stretched his seared hands out, letting the icy water soothe the developing blisters. He'd been quite certain who his enemies were-OZ the murderers, the vultures, the tyrants. And if he looked at it logically, there was no reason to be confused now.

Except that, in about five seconds, the other pilot had somehow gotten lodged in his mind and would not let go. Cobalt eyes bored into his soul, waking a sea of emotion that Duo hadn't even known existed. He was only the beleaguered swimmer. Damn him... I don't even know his name!

Duo's hands were freezing. He stood up, the water pooled on the stone soaking through his knees, and turned around, and squeaked.

It was an actual squeak. Some part of his mind, quite far from the controls, laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. Duo wasn't in any shape to object; he wasn't even sure he could manage to breathe. It was the *second* time someone had managed to sneak up on him in about a week. He must be losing his touch.

The blue-eyed pilot was even more attractive in person. His charcoal uniform was spotted with water from the roaring waterfall, the black cape slung over one shoulder gleaming starkly against muted cloth and damp, disarrayed hair. A few trails of water from his hair shone on his cheeks like tears. Misleading. The piercing eyes were just as certain and doubt-free as they had been before. Duo felt like kicking the other pilot in the shins.

Instead, he went for the tattered jester's mask and delivered an easy grin. "Good one. I'll have to be more careful about watching my back." His expression sharpened as the other pilot remained silent. "What do you want?" And who are you? And why do I care?

The silent OZ soldier regarded Duo for a moment, then turned toward the back of the cave. Shinigami rested there, partially shrouded by shadows, light mysteriously collecting in the green “eyes”, making it feel like the suit stared into his soul. He was inexplicably drawn to it, just like its pilot. Slowly, he turned and started toward the back of the cave.

Duo, irritated, planted his hands on his hips and yelled after the strange pilot, "Whatcha' doing? Checking out your handiwork?"

He continued forward, despite the braided pilot's protests. Slowly, he raised a white-gloved hand and brushed his fingertips over the cooling dark metal. Quietly, he said, "God of death..."

It was like...a faded memory. Something long ago forgotten, but so important he needed to remember... Heero closed his eyes as his hand flattened against the metal, feeling the deep warmth come through the material of his gloves. What am I forgetting? What is it...?

Duo blinked, and muttered to himself, "Chi', this guy's weird." Raising his voice, he repeated, “Who the hell are you and why are you following me?!"

This is not the mission...I have to forget this. Heero shook off the strange feeling and took a deep breath. He turned to face the pilot. "It's a fine Gundam. Shinigami model, correct?"

"Yeah..." Duo said slowly. He was now totally at sea. "How did you know that?"

Heero looked back up again at the silent Gundam. "You ever heard the saying 'you can't judge a book by its cover'?"

"You know what?" Duo said, beginning to be irritated. "You suck at answering questions!! Could you start telling me something instead of playing all these weird guessing games!?"

Very slowly, Heero turned and looked at him, the coldness returning to his eyes. "If you would quiet down and listen to what I'm saying, you'd know," he said, irritation coloring his tone as well.

Duo planted his fists on his hips, scowling. “All right, then, say something!"

Heero's mouth set in a firm line as he turned and started back toward the pilot. He reached his right hand behind his back as he approached.

Duo, taking a quick step back, went for his gun. His hand encountered--nothing. "What the hell?!"

A quick flick of Heero’s left hand produced the gun Duo was looking for, hooked on the trigger guard, while his right stayed behind his back. "Looking for this?"

Duo's mouth fell open. When did he do that?! "Hey! Give it back!"

Finally taking his right hand from behind him, Heero grabbed Duo's hand, pressed the gun into it, then put a data key on top of it. He caught Duo's gaze and held it fast. "The security sensors at Victoria Base go down for fifteen minutes every third Thursday for diagnostics. The time is fluctuating from month to month. This month, it's between 0230 and 0245. At the bottom of Lake Victoria you'll find what this key fits in. Take it into Rwanda and hide it in the mountains. After you have completed this mission, I'll contact you. Do you understand?"

Duo flipped his free hand eloquently toward his disabled Gundam. "Fine. How do I get to Africa? Shini's not going anywhere unless you have a workshop up your sleeve." He put the gun back in his waistband, but didn't put the data card away.

That was easier than I thought it would be... Heero simply lifted a plunger and pressed it with his thumb. His carefully placed explosives ignited, destroying his Aries in the valley below. It would disable it, but it also left the crucial parts the other pilot needed untouched. The loud explosion that resulted rocked through the stone floor.

"You'll find all the parts you need out there." With that, Heero turned and headed back toward the waterfall, picking up a cloth pack as he went.

"Wait!" Duo called after him. "What's your name?"

Heero paused, then turned back at the braided pilot. For the briefest of moments, the trained soldier passed from his eyes. "HeeroYuy." He seemed to fight with himself a moment, then added, "And yours?" Why do I care?

Duo grinned. "Duo Maxwell. ...Thanks for the parts. You owed me anyway, considering that you were the one who blew all my repairs to hell."

"Crackshot job that they were," Heero said. Before Duo could protest, he added, "I want her in one piece." He indicated the data key in Duo's hand with a tilt of his head. "Be careful." In more ways than one, he silently added. After that, Heero passed through the water and was gone.

Huh. Heero Yuy. Obviously a code name, Duo thought as he walked back over to his Gundam and pressed a hand against it. The metal had cooled enough to touch. Absently, he walked around it to take a closer look at the damage. Not all that appropriate, he added to himself, surveying the blackened wreck that had been his engine. This Heero’s no pacifist. The engine was shot. Completely. He’d have to hope that one of the Aries’s engines had survived the explosion intact—and that it would even fit in the Gundam’s engine housing.

“If this goes on much longer, you’re going to be nothing but spare parts,” he remarked to the silent black bulk. As much as he hated to admit it, Heero had been right about the quality of Duo’s repairs. There was a limit to what he could do with no tools and parts that didn’t really work with his system.

“Oh well,” he shrugged, glancing up at Shini’s scarred face. “At least I know how to convert the OZ suit parts for you now. Nothing like learning on the fly.” He looked out at the twisting curtain of water. “I guess I’d better go see what’s left of his Aries. I swear, after this one mission, I’m gonna look up that guy in the Pacific—”

Duo squeezed his eyes shut and stepped through the waterfall. The icy water pounded on his hunched shoulders as he edged to the side, away from the edge of the falling river. Cursing, he finally reached clear air, and wiped water and soaked hair out of his eyes.

"It’s gonna take forever for my hair to dry,” he complained, looking down the cliff. He wasn’t more than a hundred feet off the ground—a little surprising; he’d thought it was farther. The wreck of Heero’s Aries was spread out at the bottom of the cliff, artistically blown apart without damaging any of the essential parts. “That guy’s as good with explosives as I am,” he noted with a grin. “I guess OZ gives their officers the same kind of training as we terrorists get.” He paused to loosen his dripping braid and fanned the chestnut strands out, hoping that the weak sun would dry them while he collected the parts he needed. “I’m gonna have to rig up some kind of pulley to get the stuff to the cave,” he thought aloud, beginning the climb down the damp granite wall.

And he’d definitely have to keep himself busy working on the repairs. Maybe being busy would keep the OZ pilot out of his mind.

And maybe not. Heero Yuy… He lingered over the name.

“I am such an idiot,” he muttered, pausing for a moment and resting his cheek against the sun-warmed stone. There was no reason to think about the OZ pilot, not the brief softening of those icy cobalt eyes, not the warmth of the gloved hand on his own. No reason at all.

The sun was slowly heading toward the horizon, painting the sky with a celestial array of colors. Heero Yuy, OZ officer and Gundam pilot-in-disguise sat on a rocky outcropping a good fifteen miles from that valley, as well as that other Gundam pilot.

Duo Maxwell. The name rung in Heero’s head as his thoughts played and replayed the scene between them. Something about the boy had grabbed a firm hold on Heero’s conscious mind and refused to let go. He’s probably about a year younger than me...but he’s incredibly talented.

A gentle wind blew over the bare ground, kicking up dirt as well as fluttering the white silk stretched out behind him. The straps to his parachute tugged on his shoulders as well, reminding him that he had something he had to do. Heero’s eyes focused and he looked down at the large, smooth stone in his hand.

Duo Maxwell. He hoped the parts he’d left him were enough. The sensors on that black Gundam were probably half-operational, but those engines were shot. Can Aries engines be converted to Gundam--

Heero shook his head and stopped that train of thought. It was up to that Gundam pilot to get his Gundam back together. If he didn’t, Heero would carry out the mission he’d given him. It would be difficult, but no one said this would be easy.

Slowly, he closed his eyes. The pilot's smiling face hovered in his mind's eye, and even from the memory, he could feel warmth. Warmth from the smile of a dark priest.

Calmly, Heero looked again at the stone in his hand. Just as calmly, he raised the stone and clubbed the side of his head. Stars swam in his vision as he felt thick, warm blood start down the side of his face.

Perfect.

Without pause, Heero took his hand-held comm unit from his belt and called home. He spoke into the receiver to a voice only he could hear.

"Yuy here...mission failure...the suit snuck up on me and destroyed my Aries, I barely got out...yes, sir...yes, sir, I understand...no, sir, it won't happen again...I'm sorry, sir...I'm not sure, I went unconscious after I ejected...no, there's nothing left to salvage, the suit was destroyed after I ejected...sorry, sir...yes, sir, that's my location...yes, sir...thank you, sir."