A Silver Lining Part 12

With the sun rising over the ocean, the bedroom that Heero and Duo shared filled with the light from its rays. As the last three mornings since their return home, the ex-Wing pilot woke at his internal clock's signal that it was seven. Some things certainly never changed when it came to falling back into routine for him.

This particular morning was going to be a bit different than the last three. It'd be their first return to Preventer headquarters since the incident that left Duo exposing one of his many opened wounds. After being briefed over the last couple days via vid phone from Lady Une's home, it was decided by both pilots to return to headquarters to bring in their own assistance to the investigation.

With a small, sad smile on his face, Heero took a moment to watch the sleeping young man in his arms. As much as he hated having to wake his best friend from his peaceful sleep, the Japanese Preventer knew that they were expected in a meeting in a few hours. Gently, he brushed back the partner's long bangs as he whispered, "Duo. We have to get ready."

Sighing softly at the backs of fingers brushing against his cheek, Duo blinked his violet eyes open. As he smiled tired up at his friend, he yawned, "'Morning."

"Good morning," Heero smiled back before they began untangling themselves. Moving over to the closet, the Japanese pilot removed a green shirt and brown pants for his uniform. "Did you want anything in particular for breakfast?" he asked as he peered over his shoulder.

With a shrug, Duo rose from the bed and answered, "I don't really have a preference." When he met the cobalt gaze watching him, he grinned, "Surprise me."

Heero nodded and watched as the braided American went off towards the bathroom to take his morning shower. Turning back to the closet of clothes, he removed one of the gray ties. Things certainly fell right into routine smoothly so far.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Yuuki chewed on one of her rubber toys as she watched her owners clearing away the dishes from the table after their breakfast. At the sound of the doorbell, she forgot all about her toy and ran for the front door with a quick yelp. Heero and Duo both looked up to the clock. With a small smile, the braided pilot smirked, "Right on time."

As he rose from his seat, Duo readjusted his grey shirt again. After losing his muscle mass, he did not fit into his old uniform quite as well as he had before his capture. Still, he looked better in his uniform now than he would have three months prior when there was nearly nothing to him.

As the two pilots took up their Preventer uniform jackets, they walked to the front door. Yuuki was wagging her tail excitedly as she sat in waiting at the entrance. Patting the top of her head with a quiet 'Good girl,' Heero opened the front door.

Quatre and Relena both smiled brightly to their friends as they were let in. Now five months pregnant, the young woman was beginning to show, her light shirt loose around her growing belly blew a bit in the breeze from outside. "It's so good to see you both again," she grinned as she hugged Heero tightly.

"You guys have been missed over the last three months," Quatre added as he and his Japanese comrade exchanged a firm handshake.

Hesitantly, the couple turned to face their braided friend, who looked to be almost as nervous as they did at the moment. Biting his lip, Heero stepped back just the slightest bit, uncertain as to how this scene was going to play out. The memory of the last time Duo had been in the same room with any of their other friends replayed in his mind. It seemed like an eternity before anyone moved otherwise.

With a timid smile, Duo took a step forward, he broke the wall that seemed to be standing between them as he wrapped his arms around Relena. Gasping quietly, the blonde politician returned the embrace as she whispered, "Welcome back, Duo."

Both Heero and Quatre sighed quietly in relief, their tense shoulders sagging a bit as they let their guards down. When she pulled back, Relena dried the shimmering tears from her eyes as she chuckled, "Damn hormones." Duo laughed quietly with her as Quatre stepped up.

Nodding firmly, Quatre's voice cracked a bit when he greeted, "Good to see you, Duo." The two ex-Gundam pilots exchanged a firm embrace. As he pulled back, the Arab began to sputter, "Duo, I'm-"

The braided Preventer shook his head, interrupting the other teenager as he sighed deeply, "Look, Quat, what's done is done. I can't forget what you all did, but I... I forgive you guys for what happened. Can we please just move on?"

A wide smile tugged at the blonde young man's lips and he nodded, "I'd like nothing better. Thank you."

Frustrated at the fact that there were so many people around and no one was giving her any attention, Yuuki gave a small whimper as she continued to wag her tail anxiously. At the sight of the pup, Relena gasped, "Oh she's adorable!" Slowly kneeling down, she rounded up the shaggy collie with a bubbling laugh.

Heero told the pair, "She was already let out to go to the bathroom this morning, so she should be all right for a while." Pointing to the brass bell that he had hung by the door, he said, "She's getting used to ringing that bell when she needs to go. Her food is already in her dish and she may need more fresh water later today. Whatever we have for food, feel free to help yourselves."

After running down the list of things he needed to advise them, Heero reached down to pet the small dog and said sincerely, "Thank you both for coming to stay with Yuuki while we're at the office."

From where he was kneeling beside his lover as he played with the collie, Quatre looked up and grinned, "Any time. This will hardly be work for us, and a nice break from what's been happening."

Biting his lip, Duo asked, "How are Trowa and Anna holding up? They've been working practically nonstop for the last few days."

Relena answered, "They're holding up all right so far. Since they are there day and night, the rest of us have been taking shifts in making sure they have all of the privacy and assistance they need. Wufei and Sally should be in the office now to start their shift." She giggled as Yuuki reached up to lick the tip of her nose.

"That reminds me," Quatre commented, rising to his feet. Removing two cards from his pocket, he handed one to each of the other pilots. "They are the last two access cards to the database where Trowa and Anna are working. Lady Une has the room on lockdown to everyone else. Wufei, myself, Zechs and Noin are the others with cards."

Looking to his watch, Heero announced, "We better get going if we want to make this briefing in time. We should be back before it gets late." He reached down to pat his puppy again, smiling at the dog when she licked his hand after the gesture.

Duo bent down and grinned, "You be a good girl for Quatre and Relena while we're away, Yuuki." As if she understood him, the collie nudged his hand with a playful yelp. The couple smiled up at them as they bid their goodbyes.

When they stepped outside, Heero wrapped an arm around his partner's shoulder as he gently pulled his head close. Whispering into the American's ear, he said genuinely, "I'm proud of you. You handled yourself well back there."

Laughing at that, Duo replied, "Then you couldn't hear my knees knocking." He sobered a bit and frowned, "I just want to start putting water under the bridge so we can focus on the more important objective."

The braided pilot turned his head to meet the cobalt eyes watching him as he grinned, "But thank you." He emphasizes his appreciation with a one-armed hug around his best friend's waist. With a firm nod and a warm smile, Heero lowered his arm when they reached the car.

*   *   *   *   *   *

The first place that Heero and Duo visited when entering the Preventer headquarters was the database center. Taking one of the back ways, as not to draw any attention from the other officers, they reached the closed door. Sliding the access card that Quatre had given him through the scanner, Heero led the way inside.

When they turned the corner, they found a very tired pair of Preventers working at their separate stations. Trowa and Anna's head snapped up at the sound of footsteps approaching. The tall pilot's green eyes widened when he spotted the two pilots entering. As they quickly rise to their feet, Trowa smiled in relief, "Heero, Duo."

The red-haired young woman smiled just as warmly as she stepped forward, saying kindly, "This is certainly a pleasant surprise." The two reunited pilots smiled and nodded to her.

Reaching the Japanese pilot first, Trowa extended a firm handshake and one-armed embrace with him. "Welcome back, you two." Before he had a moment to hesitate, the tall pilot's eyes widened when Duo caught him off guard by hugging him tightly. Returning the embrace, Trowa smiled warmly as he closed his eyes and whispered, "Good to have you back, little brother."

Heero and Anna stood beside each other, smiling at the sight of their partners reuniting. Turning to the young woman whom had become an eminent part of his 'family', the ex-Wing pilot gently kiss the red-head's cheek, and told her, "Aside from looking exhausted, you seem well, Anna."

With a deep chuckle, the young woman winked before hugging the other pilot as she replied, "Aw, you know me. I try not to let too much get me worked up." Heero pulled back with a deep chuckle, know all too well the truth of her words.

Trowa walked up beside his lover with a bright smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Facing his braided friend, he gestured with his free hand to the redhead as he announced proudly, "Duo, I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Anna."

At the slight blush on the young woman's face, Duo grinned kindly as extended his hand, commenting, "Heero had told me a lot about you during our vacation. It's nice to finally meet you."

Practically glowing as she shook his hand firmly, Anna replied, "Well, it's an honor to finally meet you, Duo. Heero had talked a great deal about you over the last few years. I feel like I've known you for ages."

It was Heero's turn to change a bright shade of red. He hardly managed to cover it up when Duo's wide, violet eyes turned to him as he asked, "You talked to her about me while I was gone?"

Quickly, the Japanese pilot answered with a nonchalant shrug, "Well, not everything, just some things." Anna giggled at his modesty, but made no further response as she let him off the hook for the moment.

"Well at any rate," Trowa smirked, also deciding to give Heero a break from the topic. "You both chose a good time to come back to the office." The volume of his voice lowered a bit as he gazed intently at the two of his reunited friends as he said, "We're close." Both Heero and Duo's eyes widened, not needing to hear anything further for an explanation.

The redhead nodded as she added, "Maybe just a few hours. The cross reference that we're following up on is reading through our last report now."

At that, Heero's cobalt eyes narrowed as he stated, "We'll contact Quatre and Relena that we may be staying late then. I want to be informed the moment you come up with a name."

Nodding firmly, Trowa replied with a brisk, "Affirmative." His emerald eyes glanced to the door as he said in a hushed tone, "Be sure to contact Relena and Quatre on your cell phone and not by a phone in the office. Also, other than those two, don't let anyone else know what's going on today. We've already faced some setbacks in our attempts to keep this search under wraps the last couple of days."

A cold chill ran up Duo's spine as he repeated, "Setbacks?"

Trying to calm his braided comrade, the tall pilot shook his head and raised a hand, saying, "Lady Une will fill you in on that part during the briefings. It's nothing to worry over too much, but we need to be cautious that as few people know of this as possible. We don't want to lose our track when we're this close to the target."

"Understood," Heero replied with a firm nod. "We won't advise anyone else. Just keep us posted." Without another word, the ex-Wing pilot turned when he felt Duo's hand on his arm for support as they left the room.

*   *   *   *   *   *

The next seven hours were a blur of briefings and reunions for Heero and Duo following their meeting with Trowa and Anna that morning. Throughout their activities, the primary thought on both their minds was what they had learned from the young couple. There was a good chance that at any moment, they would know the name of the leak within the Preventers.

One of the things that had unnerved Heero came when he found out a few recruits had noticed the light in the database on very late in the evening. Lady Une assured him that she was taking every measure possible to see that the word did not spread far among the other Preventers. They could not afford to tip off the traitor that they were onto something when they were so close to finding them.

By the time it was after seven o'clock that evening, the late shift had ended and all of the Preventers working that day had left for the night. Without going into details as to why they wished to stay late that evening, as not to tip off too many people to what they had learned to raise suspicion, Heero and Duo were granted permission to close the building for the evening.

Outside of the office, a rainstorm had begun just about the time the sun should have begun to set. Staring out of their large office window, Duo sighed deeply as he began to pace anxiously. Without being consciously aware of it, he reached to bring his braid over his shoulder as he fidgeted with its end.

With a small, sad smile, Heero looked up from where he sat at his desk and said encouragingly, "We can stay here as long as we like, Duo. Quatre and Relena are fine with spending the night in one of our guest rooms for the evening, if we're still waiting for word from the others."

Pausing in his steps, the American turned to face him as he rubbed his arm nervously, frowning, "It's not the wait that's bothering me..." He corrected at Heero's raised eyebrow, "Well, all right, it is a little. But the fact that we're hunting one of our own is still killing me. For years now, we've been working with the enemy all along."

Heero rose from his desk and approached his best friend. Placing a hand on shoulder for support, he replied quietly, "I know. But they're not going to get away with this any longer. We'll get to them before they can hurt anyone else we care about."

There was a sudden, blinding flash of lightning that lit the darkened sky quickly followed by a loud, booming round of thunder that slightly rattled their office. Beneath his hand, Heero could feel the other pilot shudder. Gazing out to the storm again, Duo whispered, "I hope that wasn't a bad omen."

*   *   *   *   *   *

Despite the flashes of lightning and downpour of rain outside, the power in the database was not affected as Trowa and Anna continued to work at their computers. For having worked practically non-stop for days and night now, the two Preventers worked at a feverish pace, their adrenaline pumping in knowing that their work was about to finally lead them to the end of their search.

At another loud crash of thunder, the redhead looked over her shoulder to watch her lover as she commented, "Sounds like a hell of a storm out there."

Without looking up from his screen, the ex-Gundam pilot nodded, "The weather called for this kind of front to last for the next few days." His fingers only stopped when he reached his arms upward to stretch. "I'm going to pick up a few sandwiches from the vending machine," the tall pilot announced as he rose from his seat. "Do you need anything, hon?"

Anna smiled over her shoulder, "I'll just take the usual, please." With a grin and a nod, Trowa stepped out of the room as the redhead turned back to her computer, typing fluidly as her eyes scanned the relation of names to the new list of bank accounts they successfully hacked into earlier that morning.

Several minutes into Trowa's disappearance, the lights in the database center began to flicker. His blue eyes widening, Anna sat up stiff in her seat as she gazed up. All around the power slowly dimmed to nothing then back up to full for several beats. Swallowing hard, she struggled to keep from breathing heavily when all power died to nothing, plunging her into complete darkness.

Even in the pitch, Anna's hand knew where to find her pistol. Finally, after several agonizing seconds, the backup lights turned on. While the lights were spaced sporadically and considerably dimmer than the normal lights, at least it was enough to make out her surroundings. With a deep sigh of relief, the redhead lowered the gun that had been clenched in her hand, placing it back in her holster at her waist.

Quickly, Anna rose from her seat and moved to the door to check on Trowa. While she knew he was a grown man who could look after himself, she had a strange feeling about the sudden power outage. After knowing that talk had been going around that someone was working in the office late in the evening, there was cause for alarm that the news reached the wrong ears.

As she opened the door, Anna's deep blue eyes widened with a startled gasp at the sight of the pistol barrel aimed for her head. Instantly acting on reflex, the redhead gripped the doorknob still in her hand as she pulled the bulletproof door before her just as the trigger was pulled. Three bullets ricochet off the closed door as the gunman cursed sharply.

"Fuck!" Anna shouted on the other side of the door, back inside secured office as she removed her gun. In her other hand she raised her radio to her mouth as she shouted, "Trowa, it's Andrew Dobson! The bastard's armed and he has me pined in lab!"

Immediately, her lover's voice shouted over the radio, "On my way!" Panting heavily, Anna stepped back from the door as the frustrated gunman continued to fire on the closed door. With a small gasp, her eyes snapped wide in realization. Running to her fingers over her keyboard, she typed her commands into the system under the dim backup lights.

"You should have kept your damn noses out of this!" Dobson shouted outside. "You're getting too close for your own fucking good, so now I don't have a choice but to kill you both."

Growling deeply to herself, Anna's narrowed eyes stayed glued on the screen. 'Both,' her mind replayed. So he thought that Trowa was still inside. The power outage had been a ploy to bring them out of the room to face him. "Come on, come on," she hissed to her computer. At the blinking message on her screen reading 'Assess Granted,' the young woman sighed deeply in relief.

As she placed her radio to her mouth again, Anna said quietly, "Trowa, get Dobson to use Stairwell B. I've activated the emergency locks on the doors to every floor there. He'll only be able to go up to the roof then."

Trowa's quiet voice replied, "Roger that." At his affirmation, the sound of bullets flying outside filled the air as Andrew cried out. "He's taking the stairs now!" Instantly, Anna ran to the door, her pistol in her right hand.

Upon entering the hallway, she quickly caught up with her lover as they ran in pursuit of the traitor. Dobson turned once to fire at the pair before turning back to enter the stairwell. By the time the young couple reached the stairs, Andrew was already a whole flight of stairs above them. In the midst of their running up to catch the assailant, Trowa and Anna took a few times to fire at him, as they dodged his own bullets.

When they got up to the second floor, Trowa shouted into his own radio, "Heero, Duo, we have the leak! We're heading up to the roof now! You can access any stairwell except B!"

Both Heero and Duo were on their feet and flying out of their office the instant the announcement came over the radio on the ex-Wing pilot's desk. Removing the guns from their pockets, they ran for Stairwell A.

Anna ran into her partner to cause him to fall forward just in time to avoid a shot in the head after making his call. Growling loudly, the redhead fired up at Dobson again. The traitor continued his long climb up the stairs as the other two Preventers quickly got to their feet to chase after him. Finally, thirty-six floors later, they burst through the door leading to the roof.

As they stepped outside, the rain had calmed to a light drizzle as lightning continued to light the black sky. To the couple's surprise, Dobson had his back to them as he stood close to the ledge of the building, his pistol hanging loosely from his opened hand. Panting heavily, both Preventers trained their guns on their target. "Dobson, lower your weapon now and turn around slowly!" Trowa ordered loudly.

Without any hesitation, the tall, dark-haired man allowed his gun to fall from his hand with a small bounce on the hard surface. Obeying his orders, he turned slowly, raising his hands to place his hands on the back of his head as his dark brown eyes fell on his captors. There was a sinister smirk on his face that unnerved the other Preventers for a fraction of a second at the sight of it.

The door leading to Stairwell A flung open as Heero and Duo ran out. The braided pilot seemed to have been slightly winded from the climb as he panted heavily in effort to catch his breath. The two young men stared with wide eyes in disbelief at the sight of "Agent Talon," Duo all but whispered in amazement. This had been the same young man whom the American took under his wing to mentor and train when he joined the Preventers years before.

Dobson's head quickly snapped in the braided pilot's direction of the braided pilot, his own eyes widening a bit. His dark smirk returned as he chuckled deeply, "Well, well, well. So you really did make it back in one piece after all, 'teach'."

In seeing that Trowa and Anna had the situation handled, Heero replaced his own pistol in his holster as he hissed, "Why?"

With a sharp laugh, Agent Talon replied, "Why else!? The price was right, of course. A pretty penny was offered for each one of you Gundam pilots!" He shrugged, "It was just an offer that couldn't be passed up."

As he looked over his shoulder to the long fall down to the pavement, Dobson chuckled deeply. Miles below, he could make out the headlights of cars driving up and down the street. "Don't do it, Dobson," Anna's voice called to him.

His head falling back, Agent Talon smiled darkly, "I'm already dead. There is no place you can hold us that he won't be able to get to." Turning his dark eyes to look at Duo, he smirked, "I'll bet that you made a pretty little bitch while you were in that cell." The eyes of the other four Preventers widened in shock at the statement.

"I'll be watching you little pretties from Hell," Dobson stated in a deep, almost chillingly calm voice. With that, he leaned back with his arms extended as his feet left the ledge.

"NO!" Anna and Trowa screamed as they ran forward, their friends quick on their heels. When the four pilots reached the ledge, they all looked over the ledge with wide eyes as the tall man smiled up at them in his descent to the earth below until he fell out of their vision.

There was a loud crash followed by the loud squeal of tires coming to a sudden halt on the wet street. Car horns could vaguely be made out at the world below was sent into a sudden tailspin that it did not see coming. As the light rain continued to fall on them and the wind blew at their hair, the Preventers slowly pulled back from the ledge.

Wrapping her arms around her waist at a sudden chill, Anna's wide eyes looked up to her lover as she breathed, "My God... Who is 'he'? Who are we dealing with?"

As he swallowed hard, Trowa shook his head as he frowned deeply, "I-I don't know."

Duo was trembling as a small whimper escaped him. Heero instantly wrapped his arms around his partner as he held him close. Silently cursing the dead man for his last few statements, the ex-Wing pilot turned to his friends and suggested, "We better get inside." With nods of agreement, Trowa and Anna followed.

As they approached the door, to the stairs they had climbed, Trowa wrapped an arm around his lover as he asked quietly, "Status?"

"Pissed off," Anna snapped. With a sigh, she added, "But other than that, I'm fine." She looked up to her lover and asked just as softly, "You?"

The tall pilot smirked, "A few bruises, but nothing major." Just as he reached the door to open it, Trowa suddenly stiffened as he turned to Heero, asking, "Dobson referred to 'us' just now didn't he?"

Heero's cobalt eyes widened as he thought back to the fallen Agent's last comments. "He said that there was no place we could hold 'them'." His eyes narrowed again in realization as he growled, "There are other leaks."

TBC...

 

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