Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
Next Year's Crime
by Polka Dot
The sun consumes itself
The angels slow down
White wings flutter to the ground
Paper mache from parties gone by
A last soft whisper: Good-bye
Quatre dropped the file on his desk and slumped into his chair.
He stared lifelessly at the video screen. "You're
sure?"
Duo nodded. "She's not there?"
"No, but Quincy is. At least I can save one of them."
He raised a shaky hand to his forehead.
"Wufei is closing in on him. There's still hope."
Quatre shook his head. "No one can stop him."
"Can you get a hold of her?" Duo asked.
"Yeah, but what good would it do? She's dead. My sister is
dead."
"Maybe not. I mean he did promise."
The summer leaves are falling
Yellow to red to brown
The autumn wind is calling
Snow blankets the ground
"I love you, Heero."
"Relena NO!" He squeezed her hand until he cold feel
the delicate bones snap one by one, but her eyelids continued to
droop slowly down. Her soft blue eyes that reminded him of the
sea, reflected his horror stricken face for just a second more
and then the sea stilled. His soul was trapped within a window
that would close forever, drowning him in despair.
Heero closed his eyes. When he opened them she was still within
his crosshairs. He hesitated. He should've pulled the trigger a
long time ago. It would be so easy. She deserved to die, moreso
than the others. They were just soldiers, she gave the orders.
She gave command that took Relena away from him. Still he
hestitated. She was the last one. When this was over, he and
Relena could finally rest in peace. Technically he was still
alive, but his heart and soul had departed a long time ago.
Yellow leaves are falling,
golden showers from above
Autumn fades to winter.
Peace and Penance and Love
Wufei clutched his chest and sucked in another precious breath.
He was out of shape, at least by his standards. Of course he
wasn't planning on running a marathon today, but the cab from the
port got caught in traffic and then the radio said something
about a semi having flipped on the highway. So he paid the cabbie
and ducked into the nearest subway, fifteen blocks away. It turns
out the semi had crashed into an elevator that lead into the
underground tunnels. There was a possiblity of structural damage
so the trains were temporarily stopped. It was a real mess:
stranded commuters, congested side streets. The radio dj
suggested staying in town for dinner and giving the city time to
clean everything up. A good idea, except there was no way Heero
was going to stay in the city for a couple extra hours, not when
his target was this close. So Wufei just began running, it seemed
like a good idea, but that was about 7 miles ago. Now he was
wondering if he could somehow find a bike shop and charge the
expense to the Preventers or Winner Corp. All this effort to save
an honorless woman who had betrayed her own brother, there was no
way he would charge it to his own credit card.
If the snow begins to fall
Then God's tears are frozen.
If the snow begins to melt
Then God's heart is warmed.
If the snow begins to burn
Then God's world is hell.
Quatre brushed the white blonde hair from his eyes, and blinked
away his welling tears. He coudn't help but feel like all of this
was his fault. How had he become so blind that his sister and
trusted Maguanac corp. could conspire behind his back? How could
he marry the devil herself and then divorce her in a rare moment
of clarity, only to have his vision fog once more and remarry the
woman? He should let Heero do his job. Let him finish the task of
removing his enemies. In truth he benefitted most from Heero's
murderous rampage. Relena and Trowa's spirits wouldn't rest in
peace any more soundly thanks to Heero's bloody campaign. Trowa
was a solider. Relena was a political target most of her life.
They knew the risks and neither really expected to live long
peaceful lives. Heero would probably kill himself once Sheena was
dead. Only Quatre would reap any real benefits. He would regain
his sense of security once more, though he'd never be so gullible
as to blindly trust anyone again. Also Quincy would become his
official son. He should just release Heero from that stupid
promise.
Quatre shuddered and took a deep breath as he realized just how
cold-blooded his thoughts had become in the last few minutes. He
picked up a picture of the five pilots and Relena taken just
after the Eve Wars. "I'm sorry Relena. I should have stopped
him a long time ago. I won't let him finish Sheena off though. I
promise, I'll save Heero's soul." He put the picture down
and leaned back in his chair, his eyes drifted to the ceiling.
"Somehow."
Is this winter,
This bitter cold?
Is this death,
This last lost hope,
bartered and sold?
Duo cursed and then tried yet another dummy access code. One of
these had to work. 'I must be losing my touch,' he thought as the
'Unauthorized Access' warning flashed red on his screen. He
couldn't affect anything from here, but at least he could get
some idea of the situation Wufei was running into.
"Come on, come on." He muttered as his fingers flew
across the screen. Finally 'Code Accepted' flashed green on his
screen and he was hacked into the security cameras surrounding
the Winner estate. Sheena was as usual sitting apart from
everyone else, looking over the edge of the balcony where her
table gave her a nice overview of the gardens. She looked so sad.
Time hadn't treated her kindly, with her family basically
shunning her, she was seen but not heard and she closed herself
off from everyone as a result. Perhaps Heero's way would be a
mercy to her.
Duo shook his head, wondering how Quatre could put anyone in such
a situation. Oh she deserved it, but it spoke volumes on how much
his friend-his kind, sweet, good-hearted friend, had changed.
Duo's inner musings quickly ended when he saw a glint off the top
of the tree-line that flanked the Winner Mansion. He picked up
his cell phone and pressed a couple of numbers. His heart
constricted painfully as he waited.
"What?" Wufei sounded pissed on the other end. The
corners of Duo's mouth twitched. This wasn't going to brighten
the Preventor's day any.
"Heero's already there. Where are you?"
"I'm a good 3 miles away, but I was able to requisition a
motor scooter, so I should be there in about 10 minutes."
"You stole some kid's scooter?"
"I had no choice, it was the only available mode of
transportation I could get my hands on. I don't know who the
owner is, because it was in this restaurant's parking lot."
Wufei sounded embarrassed which was a real rarity for him. Duo
surpressed a chuckle. "Anyway I left a note. If I am not
able to return the scooter in good condition, then the
Preventors' will pay for it."
"Whatever you say buddy. So far Heero hasn't blown her away,
although he looks like he's in a good position to do so. Just
hurry and get there as fast as you can."
Duo hung up and tried to think of some way to distract Heero. His
face lit up as he called Quatre on the cell phone.
Catch a falling leaf
Save it from the ground
Catch a snowflake on your tongue
Taste the coming frost that
Kills all the pretty flowers.
"You've got to be kidding." Quatre looked a little
horrified. "He'll kill my butler."
"No he won't. He's not after your butler. He probably won't
do anything. Most likely he'll get the hell out of there."
"Or kill Sheena right then and there."
"Well probably not, I mean it's definitely his objective,
but if he hasn't done anything yet..."
"Do you think he's keeping his promise?" Quatre's face
lit up slightly.
"I don't know." Duo shook his head, "No I don't
think that's it. It's something else, but this could be a chance
for us to talk to him."
Quatre shook his head. "No he'll leave and then we'll have
lost our opportunity to stop him. If we don't stop him here,
we'll lost track of him and then he'll just pick off Sheena
later."
Duo nodded, "It's a risk. But even if Wufei gets there in
time we could still lose track of Heero. It's happened before.
We've got to talk to him, to find out just what's going on in his
head."
Voices from the past
Echo
Tears from another life
Fall
Memories are like rainbows
Refracted
Heero's hand reached into his pocket. He rubbed his thumb across
the slick paper and in his mind he saw the photo he fingered. He
didn't have to pull it out. It was engraved on his brain.
Relena looked like an angel in her wedding dress. She was every
girl's wish come true. A beautiful bride wearing a designer dress
with a silk veil flowing from a real tiara that she had worn when
she was queen. She wore long white gloves past her elbows and a
strand of deep water pearls. She would have been any man's
desire, but her eyes were sad, her smile weak. She was looking at
him as Noin snapped the picture. Her eyes begging him to take her
as his wife.
The ice upon our eyes cracks
We weep frozen tears of mourning
Wufei coughed and spit his discomfort onto the ground. He'd have
to ditch the scooter here and make the final mile and a half on
foot. Even with the extra effort he doubted that he could sneak
up on Heero undetected.
He checked his gun for about the fourth time. Loaded, safety off,
same as before. If he couldn't take Heero by surprise, he should
be able to get within shooting distance. Then it would simply be
a matter of will.
Children racing in a circle
Chanting of burnt corpses and heroin flowers
They play until they all fall down
Heero stiffened as the old man stopped underneath his perch. He
waited for the man to pass and move away. There was no reason for
him to be here. His duties shouldn't take him out this far. Oddly
the man didn't move. Heero's finger played with his gun's
trigger, but he was just curious, after all, this man was no
threat.
"Master Yuy, I have been sent by Master Quatre to see if you
are in need of any refreshments."
Heero scowled, not bothering to respond he scanned the treeline
and found the security camera, his eyes narrowed to slits. Of
course it was nothing but a glass lens and a metal box, but he
could still look through that lens and see violet eyes twinkle,
long brown hair shot through with grey being tossed over a
shoulder and a mouth that smirked even in the cold grip of death.
A keepsake of ashes held in an urn
bones turned to dust
flowers placed on a patch of earth
A name on a stone
"Oh man you should see the look on his face. You sure you
don't want me to patch you through?" Duo's eyes flickered
over to the small screen on his right where Quatre's pale
complexion had grown sickly white. Duo's smile didn't fade.
"That's quite alright Duo. I don't think I'll find it nearly
as amusing as you do." Quatre replied listlessly.
"Oh come on Quatre, you have to relax a little. Wufei's
almost there and your butler's not dead. In fact," Duo's
smile widened as he watched Heero mouth something to the old man
standing twenty feet below him. "I think he just asked for a
glass of lemonade."
"Really?" Quatre perked up a little. "Is his gun
still trained on Sheena." Hope filled his voice.
"Well yeah." Duo's smile died along with Quatre's hope.
Sex and sin and lustful frolic
The young turn old and children grow.
Promises and gatherings
We meet. We part. We meet. Time flows.
"Lemonade? He really asked for a glass of lemonade?"
"Sure it makes perfect sense, it's bitter yet sweet. Get it:
bittersweet." Duo smiled, Hilde just frowned.
"Yeah I get it, but it's not like Heero Yuy to be
poetic."
"No it isn't is it? I mean he's always been sorta verbally
challenged up until now. Maybe he really has changed." Duo
scratched his head as he watched Heero drink the lemonade that
the Winner butler brought for him. Wufei walked up to the tree
Heero was leaning against. Nothing made sense. Heero knew that he
was being watched. He should have left. Duo expected him to
leave. Why hadn't he? Was he really going to let Wufei just
arrest him?
Hilde's voice brought him out of his silent musings. "Maybe
he was just thirsty. After all we don't know how long he was up
it that tree."
"Maybe, but it wouldn't have taken him that long to finish
the job. All he had to do was pull the trigger. He's up to
something. Damnit, I wish I wasn't stuck here!" Duo
immediately realized his mistake when the back of Hilde's hand
caught him on the side of his head. He could hear Quatre chuckle
on the other end of the line.
Swans bloosoming into white winged angels
Somewhere there's a dove eclipsed in shadow
"I've come to arrest you Heero. Will you come along
peacefully?" Wufei held his gun ready.
"You would throw me in prison when you know how I live? What
would that accomplish?" Heero watched the beads of
condensation travel down the side of the glass.
"Justice would be served for those whom you have killed in
cold blood."
"Really? You and I are soliders, we did our duty in the war
and thus can't be charged with any crimes. Even Duo's religion
says as much." Heero eyed Wufei's gun. He wouldn't be able
to reach Wufei and dodge a bullet, if he tried to escape. Wufei
wasn't a coward. He'd shoot to kill.
"The war ended a long time ago, Heero. Relena's death
doesn't give you the right to declare a new one." Wufei
caught a hint of blond out of the corner of his eye. Quatre
couldn't have gotten here so quickly. Who?
"I disagree. Political assassinations historically have been
justifiable reasons for war." Heero's eyes left Wufei's gun
and locked onto a blonde-haired figure. He knew that Wufei
couldn't yet tell who was approaching them.
"Perhaps but you are not a recognized political state. Your
war is not a real war. It's just one you've created within your
own mind."
Heero smirked. "Is that a polite way of saying that you
think I'm insane? Perhaps I am, but I've always been this way.
"
"No you haven't Heero. I played the outdated solider who
couldn't adjust. You accepted the end of the war and forced me to
accept it as well. I know that Relena's death was difficult, but
I've lost a wife too. Quatre's lost a best friend and an
admittedly poor wife and a fiance, whom despite what you think,
was one of his closest friends. We've all learned to move on. You
must learn to move on as well."
"That's what I'm trying to do. I need to end it Wufei. I
have to do this." Heero dropped the glass onto the grass and
reached for his gun.
Wufei shot him in the shoulder.
The blonde haired child began to scream. She ran to Heero and
stood in front of him, stretching her arms out as wide as she
could, she turned a disapproving glare onto Wufei. "No
Mister, don't hurt him."
Demons sail on the wind
Knocking down buildings like stacked cards
Lives lost in the tens, the hundreds, the thousands
Our lovely American dream burns
"Katrina!" Quatre shot out of his chair, ran to the
office door, realized there was nothing he could do and collapsed
back into his chair. "Duo patch that feed through to
me."
"Calm down Quatre, neither Wufei nor Heero would do anything
to harm your daughter."
"Damnit Duo, why didn't you tell me that she was
there?"
"I'm sorry Quatre. I was focused on Wufei and Heero. I
wanted to make sure they didn't kill each other."
Quatre didn't respond as he watched the screen on his vidphone
flicker. Within seconds he saw what Duo saw. His daughter
standing before a wounded Heero. Her arms were stretched out in
an effort to sheild him and Wufei stood there looking totally
putoff.
"Eerie. For the first time ever. I probably know exactly
what Wufei is thinking." Duo muttered.
"That's not only eerie. That's scary." Hilde commented.
Duo nodded slowly.
"Cut the chatter you two I can't hear." Quatre snapped.
Deja Vu
It'll get you too
It will creep into your head
It will color your eyes
It'll make you doubt your sound mind
"Hello Katrina. It's nice to see you again. Tell me where is
the boy you were playing with earlier? Where's Quincy?"
Heero squinted past Wufei, past Katrina, his eyes searched the
Winner estate. "He's not with his mother, is he?"
Quatre gasped and his heart pounded in his ears. Had Heero set a
trap earlier, a bomb maybe? He paged his bulter and gave him
orders to evacuate the mansion.
"I don't know Mr. Heero. Are you okay?" The little girl
turned her head away from Wufei, distracted by Heero's
questions."
"Oh I'm fine. Wufei wouldn't really hurt me. You see he's a
friend of your father's just like me. Isn't that right
Wufei?"
Wufei grunted. "That's right, I'm here at your father's
request so why don't you go back inside the mansion
Katrina."
"No!" Heero watched as a steady stream of servants,
sisters and children exited out of the mansion, onto the back
lawn. Stay here Katrina, it's mcuh safer here and look your aunts
and cousins are coming this way." Heero smiled and Wufei's
eyes widened in horror.
"What?"
Can we just close our eyes and
Lose our minds for a little while?
"Geez Quatre what'd you do? They're all making their way
towards Heero and Wufei! Even Sheena." Duo watched Heero's
face closely. He paled as he saw Heero's mute satisfaction.
"We're playing right into his hands!"
"What do you mean? Why aren't they exitting out of the front
of the house? I don't understand." Quatre also paled as he
saw Wufei move towards Heero, trying to pull him away from the
emerging crowd. Katrina would have nothing of it. "Why is
she trying to protect him? How does she even know him?"
It's there
Just clear your mind and look
It's all perfectly clear
Wufei kept his eye on Heero but the crowd was thickening and
Heero was using Katrina as a sheild. Wufei couldn't follow
Heero's eyes and his hands. He knew that Heero still had the gun
on him. He knew that it was tucked into the waistband of his
pants, near his spine, hidden under his jacket. Wufei watched
that area but Duo knew better.
Duo watched Heero's eyes. It was hard to see. The back lawn was
quickly turning into chaos. The Winner mansion was apparently
heavily staffed and most of Quatre's sisters were visiting with
their children. Heero's eyes were locked onto a certain figure
that was trailing towards the back of the crowd. She knew her
danger. If Quatre hadn't of outright warned her, than she at
least had some sense of foreboding. She looked back at the
mansion, as though maybe being stuck inside a building when a
bomb went off wasn't that bad.
And then Heero was on her. He pushed the bulter between himself
and Wufei, Katrina was sent scurrying and Heero's hand never went
to his back. It seemed the knife just magically appeared within
his hand. Everyone was running away from the house. No one
noticed as Heero clasped his hand over Sheena mouth and pushed
the knife up into her chest. With his jacket falling over them
both, no one saw the bloodstain that grew between them.
Instead all that the people on the lawn saw and heard was Wufei
fire his gun accurately through the morphing crowd. They all
gasped in horror as Heero's head snapped back and then pitched
forward onto Sheena. The two collapsed onto the earth. At first
no one moved. They were all frozen like lawn statues. Some had
looked to the mansion, expecting a big explosion and missed the
smaller tragedy unfold. Then a few had tried to move Heero off of
Sheena. That's when they saw the knife, the blood, the truth of
what had happened. Then the shock wore off and it was complete
pandemonium yet again.
Let's throw fresh flowers on the grave
Turn our backs and walk away
Tomorrow starts a brand new day