Sandstorm - Chapter 7
Aug. 8th, 2005 04:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misanagiSandstorm
Rating: R/ M
Pairings: None yet
Warnings: Angst, violence.
Summary: Years after the war, the world is still wondering about the identities of the mysterious Gundam pilots. Now they have an answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters used in this fic.
Archive: Gundanium Line. Previous parts can be found here or at fanfiction.net
Thanks to Anne and Haraamis, for being wonderful beta readers. *hugs* Thanks a lot!
_____
Chapter Seven
Heero opened the door and exited the vehicle as soon as Duo hit the brakes. Wufei was waiting for them in front of the house, his Preventers' jacket hanging over one shoulder and his sunglasses on.
"This isn't the Preventers' car you left in," Wufei said, looking at the black jeep.
Duo closed the door behind him, just as Trowa was coming around the front of the jeep. "Well, that old piece of junk Une gave us wasn't gonna cut it, so we borrowed something more appropriate."
"Borrowed?" asked Wufei. "And who did you borrow this from?"
Duo grinned. "Quatre."
"He knows how to pick a vehicle," said Heero. There had been four cars and two motorbikes in Quatre's garage, all of them finely tuned, but Heero had a feeling that the jeep would prove more useful that any of the others.
"You said you had something?" Trowa's voice sounded strained. Heero could see the worry hiding behind Trowa's calmness. Trowa was right on the edge, and anything could push him over it.
Wufei turned around, walking inside the house. The others followed. "We caught the mole. This is his house. The man is thicker than a brick wall and had no useful information." He turned to Heero. "But he did have this." He extended his hand, holding out a small cellphone.
Heero took it and turned it over before opening it.
"He said he used it to contact the man who hired him." Wufei threw the jacket on the couch and took off his sunglasses. "Now we just need you to figure out who he was calling."
Heero smirked. They finally had a clue. He turned to Duo. "Keys."
Duo put his hand on his pocket. "I'll get your laptop for you," he said, walking to the door.
"Are there any more clues in the house?" Trowa asked, looking around the room.
"I combed the place before you arrived." Wufei sat on the couch and leaned back. "It's clean."
Trowa moved to a chair but seemed to change his mind. He looked around the room again before running a hand through his hair. "I have to do something."
"You can help me organize our weapons while Heero tracks down the bad guys." Duo was walking through the door. He had two backpacks on each shoulder, Heero's laptop in his right hand and the car keys in his left. After handing Heero the laptop, he walked to the center of the room and dropped the bags in the middle.
"That's a good idea," said Wufei, getting up from the couch, retrieving two bags from a corner of the room and putting them next to Duo's. "I packed some clothes for you, Heero, and I took the liberty of taking some stuff from the Preventers' armory."
Duo smirked and sat cross legged on the floor. "Great minds think alike." He opened one of the packs and started to pull out weapon after weapon. Trowa sat beside him pulling even more weapons from his bag.
"Gray suitcase," said Heero pointing to one of his bags. Great minds do think alike, or maybe it was only the soldier instincts that wouldn't leave them.
Heero took his laptop and the cellphone and settled himself at the small dining table. He could hear the others talking in the living room, but he ignored their voices and concentrated solely on the task at hand.
The cellphone was perfectly normal as far as he could tell, not very recent but still new enough to have a memory card. He opened the battery compartment and removed the small card at the back.
It didn't take him long to turn on his laptop and insert the memory card. Heero opened one of his hacking programs and started to quickly decrypt the information on the card. He narrowed down the possible contact numbers to five, three located in America and two in Europe.
With the timeframe of the kidnapping it was highly unlikely that Quatre had been moved to America, but the person calling the mole could be located there and not directly involved with the abduction. Heero searched all the past calls for encryptions, figuring that the kidnapers would try to make the line untraceable. Try being the key word. Heero knew they didn't have someone as skilled as him working for them.
The three numbers in America cleared easily. The calls had even been made using a prepaid card. There was nothing unusual about it, probably some relatives trying to get a hold of the cellphone's owner. Heero smirked. If the phone call had originated from Europe it was more likely that tracing it would lead them to straight to Quatre, instead of some middle man in the kidnappers' organization.
The two Europe numbers were heavily encrypted. The first one was a land line, and Heero struggled for ten minutes trying to break the code before he realized that he recognized the number, and the encryption. He felt like hitting himself. He was just trying to hack one of the Sank Kingdom Preventers' secure lines; a system he had installed himself. Une had probably used that line herself to contact the agent before they realized he was a traitor.
Shaking his head, Heero focused on the last number. That had to be the one. Whoever had made that call was the mole's contact. Narrowing down the location of a cellphone was a complicated task, especially if the signal was encrypted, but it only took Heero a few minutes.
"I got it." His voice wasn't more than a whisper, but he was heard by his friends. They quickly rushed to the table and gathered around Heero, waiting for him to explain.
"The call originated from Warsaw, Poland, from a mobile phone," announced Heero. "The signal has been coming from the same place since Quatre was taken."
"Do you have the exact location?" Trowa asked.
Heero nodded. "An abandoned neighborhood that was destroyed in the war. I can pinpoint the building once we are closer."
"Hell yeah!" Duo was grinning widely. "What are we waiting for? Let's get a plane and go get Q."
Wufei shook his head. "Stealing a plane or taking one from Preventers would attract too much attention. We don't need that right now."
Duo was about to protest, but Heero interrupted him. "Besides, there isn't any place to land nearby. The war really took a toll on this city, very few things still stand. I think our best option is to go by land."
"We are about three hours away," said Trowa, taking a seat beside Heero. "We have time enough to get supplies and scout the perimeter. By then the sun should be coming down. We can strike then."
"Is the equipment ready?" asked Heero.
"We have enough weapons, communication devices, credits, a GPS and some other fun stuff." Duo smiled wickedly. "We need to get some food and some medicine." His smile vanished. "We don't know in what state Q will be in..."
They all narrowed their eyes. It wasn't something they wanted to think about, but they were all soldiers, and they knew what was likely to happen in a hostage situation.
"I'll go shopping," said Duo, smiling slightly. He took the keys from his pocket and headed out. Without saying a word, Trowa stood up and followed.
Wufei disappeared into the kitchen, and Heero decided to use the time they had to find a good place to go after they rescued Quatre. Warsaw was mainly destroyed, but there were still a few places where they could go. A motel would probably work. They just needed to find one in the vicinity, or at least not very far away.
A cup of coffee was placed beside the laptop. Heero looked up and saw Wufei taking a seat in front of him, a coffee cup in his hand. "You look tired," Wufei said simply.
Wufei didn't look much better. Actually, all of them needed to get some rest, but they wouldn’t be able to get any until Quatre was safe. They had gone a lot longer without sleep during the war, and Heero trusted his abilities and in those of his friends, no matter how tired they were. Heero took a sip of the coffee, savoring the slightly bitter taste.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Heero?" Wufei was looking him in the eyes, the cup of coffee forgotten on the table.
Heero placed his cup on the table too. "Do what?"
"The mission." Wufei's voice was sharp, but there was concern hidden there too. "You might have to break your vow."
After moving the laptop to the side so he could see Wufei better, Heero leaned back in his chair. "I'm aware of that." It wasn't the first time he had faced that question. When he had decided to protect Relena he had made a choice. He wouldn't kill but that wasn't going to stop him from taking care of those he loved.
After the Marimeia incident, Relena had been threatened twice. Both times Heero had drawn the weapon he had never stopped carrying and fired. He didn't aim to kill anymore, but he was aware that every shot could be fatal. As much as he cared for his promise not to ever kill again, he cared a lot more for his friends, his family. "Quatre is more important than my vow."
Wufei nodded. "Then let's go get him."
* * *
Abdul gripped the wheel firmly as the jeep jumped slightly. It landed with a thud, and Abdul immediately pressed the accelerator again.
"Want to slow down a bit before you kill us both?" asked Ahmad, gripping the handle above with his left hand and the one in front of him with his right.
Abdul just gave Ahmad a smirk and kept the same speed. The sky was already turning red, and he was determined to reach camp before nightfall.
"Rashid will not be happy if you wreck the jeep."
Pushing his glasses down to give Ahmad a look, Abdul increased the speed even more. "You say that like you don't trust me."
Ahmad sighed. "This isn't exactly a highway. It isn't even a road, so you need to be careful."
"Like this is the first time I've driven in the middle of the desert." Abdul chuckled. "You know what's happening? You're getting old."
Ahmad lifted his head in a dignifying manner, which only made Abdul take notice of the prominent mustache and the two day old beard. Abdul couldn't stop another laugh. Ahmad was just too easy to tease. The rest of the drive was fast and silent. Ahmad was apparently too preoccupied with looking old to complain more about the speed.
Rashid was waiting for them in the garage. He looked calm, but Abdul had no doubt that the man was still very worried about Master Quatre, as were all of them. The reports Abdul had managed to send were very limited, since they preferred not to say too much on the phone, even if the lines were secured. "I'm glad you are back safely," said Rashid, with a hint of a smile. "Shall we?" he turned to walk inside. Ahmad and Abdul followed.
When they were in the dining room, where food and drinks had been prepared for everyone, Rashid began to question them. "So they don't know Master Quatre's location yet?"
Abdul grinned. "Duo Maxwell called when we were on our way here. They have a lead. He didn't say much, but he said they were going to get him."
Rashid visibly relaxed. "We can trust them. They care for Master Quatre as much as we do." He drank a sip of wine. "I just hope they know to come to us if they need help."
"I think they are over that lone crusader thing," said Abdul. "Duo even asked us to distract the Preventers, so they could sneak into Master Quatre's house to look for clues."
Rashid raised an eyebrow. "I assume there were no problems."
Ahmad shook his head. "None at all."
"Like a silly group of Preventers is a challenge for two strong Maguanacs like us?" Abdul said, cheerfully. "Even if one is getting old," he added, giving a wink in Ahmad's direction.
Rashid gave Abdul a hard look. "I hope I don't fit your definition of old."
Abdul gave Rashid a sheepish smile, but before he could answer another voice interrupted him.
"Did I miss some good Ahmad teasing while you were away?" asked Auda, entering the room and sitting between Abdul and Ahmad.
"Nah, I behaved." Abdul waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
Ahmed just glared at the two and continued eating his meal silently.
"Sure you did," said Auda. "So are we going to go get Master Quatre?"
"His friends are going for him." Rashid was looking at his wine glass. "We'll just have to trust them.
* * *
Sebastian was sitting on the small kitchen, having a cup of coffee while he watched Henry and Francis eat their meals. They had just switched shifts with Manuel and Patrick, who were now on watch. It was still early in the night, and Sebastian just had something to eat, but he was still tired. He hadn’t anticipated that interrogating the pilot would be so wearing. The kid was proving hard to break, but that just ensured that once he joined them he would be a powerful ally.
Things could be progressing faster if it weren't for her order not to harm Winner too badly. Having to restrain himself was more difficult than Sebastian had thought. He had done that sort of work before on L2. He was one of the best, but he had never had to be so careful of a prisoner's health before. Usually, if they stayed alive and conscious once in a while, it would be enough, but she wanted the boy to pilot, and he wouldn't be able to do that with a broken arm.
If Winner hadn't drunk so much before they'd caught him Sebastian might be inclined to use drugs, but with the alcohol still in their captive's body it was a risk he wasn't prepared to take. The sedative they had given the pilot to transport him more easily had been risky enough.
With drugs being out of question and the amount of pain he could administer being limited, Sebastian could only do so much. He had been trying the psychological techniques she had suggested, but he wasn't sure they were working. She had said it could take time, but time was against them. The longer they took to break the boy the higher the chances of getting caught became.
"Hey, Culler, do you think we should give the kid some food?" Francis asked, his mouth full of tuna sandwich.
"When was the last time you fed him?" Henry asked Francis, placing his glass of juice on the table.
Francis put a hand under his chin while he chewed another bite of sandwich. "I gave him a glass of juice today before our shift. Just after lunch."
Henry was already done with his dinner. "No food?"
"An empty stomach will remind him that is better for him to cooperate," said Sebastian simply. "He's getting enough fluids. Food is not a necessity."
"Still," said Francis, looking at the half eaten sandwich in his hand, "he must be hungry."
Henry laughed, getting up to get a cup of coffee for himself. "I can't believe you feel sorry for the kid after he almost knocked your teeth out."
It had happened when Francis had unchained the pilot from the chair to take him to the bathroom. Midway there the boy had attacked Francis, managing to knock him out momentarily. He had nearly escaped. Sebastian had caught him when he was almost at the door.
That was one of the reasons Sebastian was feeling tired. The pilot had put up quite a fight for being weak, hurt, blindfolded and wearing handcuffs. Apparently he had tried to take off his blindfold, not realizing that the cloth had been secured with electric tape to his head, and when that didn't work he had walked blindly, trying to find the exit. It was fortunate that he had run into the table, knocking over some plates, or Sebastian might not have heard him.
Sebastian and Henry had managed to drag the boy back to the basement between them, and secure him to the chair. Then, Sebastian had asked Henry to leave and had worked an hour on the pilot. That escape attempt had been too close, and Sebastian wanted to prove that any resistance was futile and that the best option was to surrender.
He still had gotten nothing out of the kid. The boy spoke little and not a word he said was useful. Normally his words were challenges disguised under a polite tone. He was still being defiant and stubborn, and Sebastian knew he wasn't close to breaking him yet.
Francis nuzzled his bruised chin. "It's weird. The kid is stubborn as hell, and he did knock me out but..." he took a sip of juice and turned to face Henry. "He thanked me for the juice today. In fact, he thanks me every time I take him to the bathroom or get him something to drink, even if Culler has been working on him before." Francis shook his head. "It's just weird. He's not what I expected."
"He'll be a good ally once Culler breaks him," said Henry.
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. The truth was that he found the pilot weird too. Every time Sebastian tried to expose him as a murderer and terrorist the boy remained quiet, or simply nodded and stated that he wasn't proud of what he had done. When he tried to teach him about their ideals and what they were fighting for, the boy just used patronizing words, showing that he didn't agree with Sebastian's ideas but that he wasn't going to challenge them either. The pilot dismissed him as one does to a small child, who has yet to understand the world of grown ups.
Those were the times Sebastian let his anger take control. For a few moments he ignored her words and her recommendations to break his spirit instead of his body, and just launched at the boy, showing him who was in charge. His captive would grunt and moan and sometimes even let out a scream, but he would never talk.
Sebastian needed the pilot to tell him the specifications of the Gundam known as Zero. She had said that he had been the one who built it and would be the only one able to do it again. And then, once they had the Gundam, they would make the boy join the fight, and all of them would create a new world in outer space, a better one. It was a beautiful dream, and all that stood between Sebastian and the dream was a rich brat.
The boy might have fought a war, and Sebastian respected him for that, but what did a rich kid from L4 really know about life, about the harshness that some had to bear? About the misery of those who weren’t nearly as fortunate as him? Sebastian wanted to make him see, to open his eyes to the real world, the one that was lived outside mansions, but the boy refused to look.
A hand was waved in front of Sebastian's eyes. "Culler?" asked Henry. "Are you listening to us?"
Sebastian blinked a couple of times and then brought the cup of coffee to his lips. It was cold. "He will be broken," he said to Henry, not caring if anything else had been discussed while he was thinking.
"I was wondering if you needed any help," said Henry. "I know I've never handled an interrogation before, but I can help, and learn." Henry's eyes were sparkling, and he was leaning forward, waiting for Sebastian's answer. He seemed too eager to take on a dirty job like breaking someone's spirit.
Francis made a disgusted face and then looked at Henry. "Why would you want to do that? Are you some kind of sadist?"
Henry turned to Francis, but he kept looking at Sebastian every once in a while. "I'm not a sadist. Breaking the kid is very important for our fight. We can't advance until we gain his cooperation. And I'm willing to do anything to make sure that our plan is executed."
Looking down, Francis swallowed his last piece of sandwich. "I want our plan to work too," he said, still not raising his eyes. "I want my sister and everyone on L2 to have a better life, but," he grabbed his glass of juice and brought it to his lips but then put it back down without drinking. He shook his head. "Nothing. Do what you want."
Henry shrugged and turned to Sebastian. "So, what do you say?"
A loud noise filled the room, and the three men turned to the open door, where a figure was standing, holding two machine guns straight at them. "Just give me a reason to shoot," the figure said. "I assure you I won't miss."
* * *
TBC.
Rating: R/ M
Pairings: None yet
Warnings: Angst, violence.
Summary: Years after the war, the world is still wondering about the identities of the mysterious Gundam pilots. Now they have an answer.
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or the characters used in this fic.
Archive: Gundanium Line. Previous parts can be found here or at fanfiction.net
Thanks to Anne and Haraamis, for being wonderful beta readers. *hugs* Thanks a lot!
_____
Chapter Seven
Heero opened the door and exited the vehicle as soon as Duo hit the brakes. Wufei was waiting for them in front of the house, his Preventers' jacket hanging over one shoulder and his sunglasses on.
"This isn't the Preventers' car you left in," Wufei said, looking at the black jeep.
Duo closed the door behind him, just as Trowa was coming around the front of the jeep. "Well, that old piece of junk Une gave us wasn't gonna cut it, so we borrowed something more appropriate."
"Borrowed?" asked Wufei. "And who did you borrow this from?"
Duo grinned. "Quatre."
"He knows how to pick a vehicle," said Heero. There had been four cars and two motorbikes in Quatre's garage, all of them finely tuned, but Heero had a feeling that the jeep would prove more useful that any of the others.
"You said you had something?" Trowa's voice sounded strained. Heero could see the worry hiding behind Trowa's calmness. Trowa was right on the edge, and anything could push him over it.
Wufei turned around, walking inside the house. The others followed. "We caught the mole. This is his house. The man is thicker than a brick wall and had no useful information." He turned to Heero. "But he did have this." He extended his hand, holding out a small cellphone.
Heero took it and turned it over before opening it.
"He said he used it to contact the man who hired him." Wufei threw the jacket on the couch and took off his sunglasses. "Now we just need you to figure out who he was calling."
Heero smirked. They finally had a clue. He turned to Duo. "Keys."
Duo put his hand on his pocket. "I'll get your laptop for you," he said, walking to the door.
"Are there any more clues in the house?" Trowa asked, looking around the room.
"I combed the place before you arrived." Wufei sat on the couch and leaned back. "It's clean."
Trowa moved to a chair but seemed to change his mind. He looked around the room again before running a hand through his hair. "I have to do something."
"You can help me organize our weapons while Heero tracks down the bad guys." Duo was walking through the door. He had two backpacks on each shoulder, Heero's laptop in his right hand and the car keys in his left. After handing Heero the laptop, he walked to the center of the room and dropped the bags in the middle.
"That's a good idea," said Wufei, getting up from the couch, retrieving two bags from a corner of the room and putting them next to Duo's. "I packed some clothes for you, Heero, and I took the liberty of taking some stuff from the Preventers' armory."
Duo smirked and sat cross legged on the floor. "Great minds think alike." He opened one of the packs and started to pull out weapon after weapon. Trowa sat beside him pulling even more weapons from his bag.
"Gray suitcase," said Heero pointing to one of his bags. Great minds do think alike, or maybe it was only the soldier instincts that wouldn't leave them.
Heero took his laptop and the cellphone and settled himself at the small dining table. He could hear the others talking in the living room, but he ignored their voices and concentrated solely on the task at hand.
The cellphone was perfectly normal as far as he could tell, not very recent but still new enough to have a memory card. He opened the battery compartment and removed the small card at the back.
It didn't take him long to turn on his laptop and insert the memory card. Heero opened one of his hacking programs and started to quickly decrypt the information on the card. He narrowed down the possible contact numbers to five, three located in America and two in Europe.
With the timeframe of the kidnapping it was highly unlikely that Quatre had been moved to America, but the person calling the mole could be located there and not directly involved with the abduction. Heero searched all the past calls for encryptions, figuring that the kidnapers would try to make the line untraceable. Try being the key word. Heero knew they didn't have someone as skilled as him working for them.
The three numbers in America cleared easily. The calls had even been made using a prepaid card. There was nothing unusual about it, probably some relatives trying to get a hold of the cellphone's owner. Heero smirked. If the phone call had originated from Europe it was more likely that tracing it would lead them to straight to Quatre, instead of some middle man in the kidnappers' organization.
The two Europe numbers were heavily encrypted. The first one was a land line, and Heero struggled for ten minutes trying to break the code before he realized that he recognized the number, and the encryption. He felt like hitting himself. He was just trying to hack one of the Sank Kingdom Preventers' secure lines; a system he had installed himself. Une had probably used that line herself to contact the agent before they realized he was a traitor.
Shaking his head, Heero focused on the last number. That had to be the one. Whoever had made that call was the mole's contact. Narrowing down the location of a cellphone was a complicated task, especially if the signal was encrypted, but it only took Heero a few minutes.
"I got it." His voice wasn't more than a whisper, but he was heard by his friends. They quickly rushed to the table and gathered around Heero, waiting for him to explain.
"The call originated from Warsaw, Poland, from a mobile phone," announced Heero. "The signal has been coming from the same place since Quatre was taken."
"Do you have the exact location?" Trowa asked.
Heero nodded. "An abandoned neighborhood that was destroyed in the war. I can pinpoint the building once we are closer."
"Hell yeah!" Duo was grinning widely. "What are we waiting for? Let's get a plane and go get Q."
Wufei shook his head. "Stealing a plane or taking one from Preventers would attract too much attention. We don't need that right now."
Duo was about to protest, but Heero interrupted him. "Besides, there isn't any place to land nearby. The war really took a toll on this city, very few things still stand. I think our best option is to go by land."
"We are about three hours away," said Trowa, taking a seat beside Heero. "We have time enough to get supplies and scout the perimeter. By then the sun should be coming down. We can strike then."
"Is the equipment ready?" asked Heero.
"We have enough weapons, communication devices, credits, a GPS and some other fun stuff." Duo smiled wickedly. "We need to get some food and some medicine." His smile vanished. "We don't know in what state Q will be in..."
They all narrowed their eyes. It wasn't something they wanted to think about, but they were all soldiers, and they knew what was likely to happen in a hostage situation.
"I'll go shopping," said Duo, smiling slightly. He took the keys from his pocket and headed out. Without saying a word, Trowa stood up and followed.
Wufei disappeared into the kitchen, and Heero decided to use the time they had to find a good place to go after they rescued Quatre. Warsaw was mainly destroyed, but there were still a few places where they could go. A motel would probably work. They just needed to find one in the vicinity, or at least not very far away.
A cup of coffee was placed beside the laptop. Heero looked up and saw Wufei taking a seat in front of him, a coffee cup in his hand. "You look tired," Wufei said simply.
Wufei didn't look much better. Actually, all of them needed to get some rest, but they wouldn’t be able to get any until Quatre was safe. They had gone a lot longer without sleep during the war, and Heero trusted his abilities and in those of his friends, no matter how tired they were. Heero took a sip of the coffee, savoring the slightly bitter taste.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Heero?" Wufei was looking him in the eyes, the cup of coffee forgotten on the table.
Heero placed his cup on the table too. "Do what?"
"The mission." Wufei's voice was sharp, but there was concern hidden there too. "You might have to break your vow."
After moving the laptop to the side so he could see Wufei better, Heero leaned back in his chair. "I'm aware of that." It wasn't the first time he had faced that question. When he had decided to protect Relena he had made a choice. He wouldn't kill but that wasn't going to stop him from taking care of those he loved.
After the Marimeia incident, Relena had been threatened twice. Both times Heero had drawn the weapon he had never stopped carrying and fired. He didn't aim to kill anymore, but he was aware that every shot could be fatal. As much as he cared for his promise not to ever kill again, he cared a lot more for his friends, his family. "Quatre is more important than my vow."
Wufei nodded. "Then let's go get him."
* * *
Abdul gripped the wheel firmly as the jeep jumped slightly. It landed with a thud, and Abdul immediately pressed the accelerator again.
"Want to slow down a bit before you kill us both?" asked Ahmad, gripping the handle above with his left hand and the one in front of him with his right.
Abdul just gave Ahmad a smirk and kept the same speed. The sky was already turning red, and he was determined to reach camp before nightfall.
"Rashid will not be happy if you wreck the jeep."
Pushing his glasses down to give Ahmad a look, Abdul increased the speed even more. "You say that like you don't trust me."
Ahmad sighed. "This isn't exactly a highway. It isn't even a road, so you need to be careful."
"Like this is the first time I've driven in the middle of the desert." Abdul chuckled. "You know what's happening? You're getting old."
Ahmad lifted his head in a dignifying manner, which only made Abdul take notice of the prominent mustache and the two day old beard. Abdul couldn't stop another laugh. Ahmad was just too easy to tease. The rest of the drive was fast and silent. Ahmad was apparently too preoccupied with looking old to complain more about the speed.
Rashid was waiting for them in the garage. He looked calm, but Abdul had no doubt that the man was still very worried about Master Quatre, as were all of them. The reports Abdul had managed to send were very limited, since they preferred not to say too much on the phone, even if the lines were secured. "I'm glad you are back safely," said Rashid, with a hint of a smile. "Shall we?" he turned to walk inside. Ahmad and Abdul followed.
When they were in the dining room, where food and drinks had been prepared for everyone, Rashid began to question them. "So they don't know Master Quatre's location yet?"
Abdul grinned. "Duo Maxwell called when we were on our way here. They have a lead. He didn't say much, but he said they were going to get him."
Rashid visibly relaxed. "We can trust them. They care for Master Quatre as much as we do." He drank a sip of wine. "I just hope they know to come to us if they need help."
"I think they are over that lone crusader thing," said Abdul. "Duo even asked us to distract the Preventers, so they could sneak into Master Quatre's house to look for clues."
Rashid raised an eyebrow. "I assume there were no problems."
Ahmad shook his head. "None at all."
"Like a silly group of Preventers is a challenge for two strong Maguanacs like us?" Abdul said, cheerfully. "Even if one is getting old," he added, giving a wink in Ahmad's direction.
Rashid gave Abdul a hard look. "I hope I don't fit your definition of old."
Abdul gave Rashid a sheepish smile, but before he could answer another voice interrupted him.
"Did I miss some good Ahmad teasing while you were away?" asked Auda, entering the room and sitting between Abdul and Ahmad.
"Nah, I behaved." Abdul waved his hand in a dismissive gesture.
Ahmed just glared at the two and continued eating his meal silently.
"Sure you did," said Auda. "So are we going to go get Master Quatre?"
"His friends are going for him." Rashid was looking at his wine glass. "We'll just have to trust them.
* * *
Sebastian was sitting on the small kitchen, having a cup of coffee while he watched Henry and Francis eat their meals. They had just switched shifts with Manuel and Patrick, who were now on watch. It was still early in the night, and Sebastian just had something to eat, but he was still tired. He hadn’t anticipated that interrogating the pilot would be so wearing. The kid was proving hard to break, but that just ensured that once he joined them he would be a powerful ally.
Things could be progressing faster if it weren't for her order not to harm Winner too badly. Having to restrain himself was more difficult than Sebastian had thought. He had done that sort of work before on L2. He was one of the best, but he had never had to be so careful of a prisoner's health before. Usually, if they stayed alive and conscious once in a while, it would be enough, but she wanted the boy to pilot, and he wouldn't be able to do that with a broken arm.
If Winner hadn't drunk so much before they'd caught him Sebastian might be inclined to use drugs, but with the alcohol still in their captive's body it was a risk he wasn't prepared to take. The sedative they had given the pilot to transport him more easily had been risky enough.
With drugs being out of question and the amount of pain he could administer being limited, Sebastian could only do so much. He had been trying the psychological techniques she had suggested, but he wasn't sure they were working. She had said it could take time, but time was against them. The longer they took to break the boy the higher the chances of getting caught became.
"Hey, Culler, do you think we should give the kid some food?" Francis asked, his mouth full of tuna sandwich.
"When was the last time you fed him?" Henry asked Francis, placing his glass of juice on the table.
Francis put a hand under his chin while he chewed another bite of sandwich. "I gave him a glass of juice today before our shift. Just after lunch."
Henry was already done with his dinner. "No food?"
"An empty stomach will remind him that is better for him to cooperate," said Sebastian simply. "He's getting enough fluids. Food is not a necessity."
"Still," said Francis, looking at the half eaten sandwich in his hand, "he must be hungry."
Henry laughed, getting up to get a cup of coffee for himself. "I can't believe you feel sorry for the kid after he almost knocked your teeth out."
It had happened when Francis had unchained the pilot from the chair to take him to the bathroom. Midway there the boy had attacked Francis, managing to knock him out momentarily. He had nearly escaped. Sebastian had caught him when he was almost at the door.
That was one of the reasons Sebastian was feeling tired. The pilot had put up quite a fight for being weak, hurt, blindfolded and wearing handcuffs. Apparently he had tried to take off his blindfold, not realizing that the cloth had been secured with electric tape to his head, and when that didn't work he had walked blindly, trying to find the exit. It was fortunate that he had run into the table, knocking over some plates, or Sebastian might not have heard him.
Sebastian and Henry had managed to drag the boy back to the basement between them, and secure him to the chair. Then, Sebastian had asked Henry to leave and had worked an hour on the pilot. That escape attempt had been too close, and Sebastian wanted to prove that any resistance was futile and that the best option was to surrender.
He still had gotten nothing out of the kid. The boy spoke little and not a word he said was useful. Normally his words were challenges disguised under a polite tone. He was still being defiant and stubborn, and Sebastian knew he wasn't close to breaking him yet.
Francis nuzzled his bruised chin. "It's weird. The kid is stubborn as hell, and he did knock me out but..." he took a sip of juice and turned to face Henry. "He thanked me for the juice today. In fact, he thanks me every time I take him to the bathroom or get him something to drink, even if Culler has been working on him before." Francis shook his head. "It's just weird. He's not what I expected."
"He'll be a good ally once Culler breaks him," said Henry.
Sebastian nodded thoughtfully. The truth was that he found the pilot weird too. Every time Sebastian tried to expose him as a murderer and terrorist the boy remained quiet, or simply nodded and stated that he wasn't proud of what he had done. When he tried to teach him about their ideals and what they were fighting for, the boy just used patronizing words, showing that he didn't agree with Sebastian's ideas but that he wasn't going to challenge them either. The pilot dismissed him as one does to a small child, who has yet to understand the world of grown ups.
Those were the times Sebastian let his anger take control. For a few moments he ignored her words and her recommendations to break his spirit instead of his body, and just launched at the boy, showing him who was in charge. His captive would grunt and moan and sometimes even let out a scream, but he would never talk.
Sebastian needed the pilot to tell him the specifications of the Gundam known as Zero. She had said that he had been the one who built it and would be the only one able to do it again. And then, once they had the Gundam, they would make the boy join the fight, and all of them would create a new world in outer space, a better one. It was a beautiful dream, and all that stood between Sebastian and the dream was a rich brat.
The boy might have fought a war, and Sebastian respected him for that, but what did a rich kid from L4 really know about life, about the harshness that some had to bear? About the misery of those who weren’t nearly as fortunate as him? Sebastian wanted to make him see, to open his eyes to the real world, the one that was lived outside mansions, but the boy refused to look.
A hand was waved in front of Sebastian's eyes. "Culler?" asked Henry. "Are you listening to us?"
Sebastian blinked a couple of times and then brought the cup of coffee to his lips. It was cold. "He will be broken," he said to Henry, not caring if anything else had been discussed while he was thinking.
"I was wondering if you needed any help," said Henry. "I know I've never handled an interrogation before, but I can help, and learn." Henry's eyes were sparkling, and he was leaning forward, waiting for Sebastian's answer. He seemed too eager to take on a dirty job like breaking someone's spirit.
Francis made a disgusted face and then looked at Henry. "Why would you want to do that? Are you some kind of sadist?"
Henry turned to Francis, but he kept looking at Sebastian every once in a while. "I'm not a sadist. Breaking the kid is very important for our fight. We can't advance until we gain his cooperation. And I'm willing to do anything to make sure that our plan is executed."
Looking down, Francis swallowed his last piece of sandwich. "I want our plan to work too," he said, still not raising his eyes. "I want my sister and everyone on L2 to have a better life, but," he grabbed his glass of juice and brought it to his lips but then put it back down without drinking. He shook his head. "Nothing. Do what you want."
Henry shrugged and turned to Sebastian. "So, what do you say?"
A loud noise filled the room, and the three men turned to the open door, where a figure was standing, holding two machine guns straight at them. "Just give me a reason to shoot," the figure said. "I assure you I won't miss."
* * *
TBC.
