Author's Note: This took forever, I know. Sorry for the wait...and the chapter after this one will really make it up to you all!
Boot Camp Part 48
Damage Control
The instant the barracks door closed behind the boys from Team Wing, Duo began throwing things. He started with the pillows and blankets on the bunks, working his way up to boots, foot lockers, and any other loose objects that came to hand. And as he vented his rage and frustration in a violent display, he kept up a steady stream of profanity, his voice gradually becoming hoarse with fatigue.
His two teammates merely stood watching in silence until his fury had spent itself in the outburst, and he began to calm down.
"This is fucking unbelievable!" he finally groaned, flopping backwards on Heero's bunk, arms spread to the sides and chest heaving from the exertion.
Quatre walked over and settled carefully onto the bunk beside him. "Don't give up hope, Duo. I know it looks bad--"
"Looks bad?" Duo echoed, raising his head fractionally to fix a burning gaze on the blonde. "Quat, it is bad! It's as bad as it can get!"
"No, it's not," Quatre insisted, cautiously putting a hand on Duo's shoulder. "Heero's safe for the moment. Chang won't let anything happen to him; and he's getting him a good lawyer. You heard him--"
"Fuck it, Quatre! I've heard all that shit before!" Duo scowled darkly. "Every fucking time I was arrested I heard the same bullshit about getting a fair trial and a fair sentence." He looked up from his prone position. "There's no such thing as fair when you come from the streets, Quat. You don't understand. You grew up with the proverbial silver spoon in your mouth. You never got fucked over by the system!"
"No, I just got fucked over by my father!" Quatre snapped back. "He found out I was gay and the next time I got arrested he refused to get me a lawyer. So I got a public defender and a choice between three years in prison and a few months in boot camp."
Duo seemed mollified by his friend's outburst, and gave him a pained look. "Heero won't get off that easy, Quat. D'you know what the sentence for murder would be?"
"Twenty-five to life," Trowa said flatly, walking over to lean on the wall, regarding his teammates with a somber expression.
Duo groaned again, putting both hands over his face and muttering a curse. >Quatre sighed, shaking his head at Trowa in warning. "That's only a worst-case scenario, Duo. First they'd have to convict him. And you heard Wufei. He'll help defend Heero."
"Did his guardian really do all that you said?" Trowa asked quietly.
"Yeah," Duo said weakly, dropping his arms to his sides again. "My first night back here after solitary I had a nightmare. Heero woke up and talked to me for awhile." His features softened into a wistful expression as he recalled the other boy's sensitivity. "He told me how he knew what I was going through, cuz he'd gone through it, too."
"So the assault he was convicted of was against his guardian," Trowa surmised. "And now the guy's dead?"
Quatre was scowling deeply by then. "How coincidental that he died the day Heero turned eighteen..."
"There's no coincidence at all," Duo said flatly, pushing himself up on his elbows to look at both of his teammates. "Kushrenada made this happen. An' I swear to God I'll find out how if I have to beat it out of him!"
"All that would do is get you in trouble," Quatre said gently, but the frown still creased his forehead. "We have to find a legal way to prove his involvement."
The indigo eyes darted a wary look at the blonde. "You aren't going to try to tell me I'm jumping to conclusions?"
"Fuck no!" Trowa cut in coolly. "We know damned well what Kushrenada is capable of." His green eyes fixed a knowing look on the braided boy. "He wants to destroy you, Maxwell. And if he had to kill to accomplish it, he would...and I believe he did."
"But how the hell do we prove it?" moaned the braided boy.
"We've got to set him up," Quatre said evenly, steely resolve in his voice. "Like he did to you...and to Heero."
Trowa nodded agreement. "There's got to be some way we can get him to admit to it. There's got to be something he wants." >"There is," Duo said flatly. "Me."
~*~
Major Merquise and Wufei followed the four L1 officers to the detention center, determined that Heero wouldn't be mistreated in any way, shape, or form. Fortunately these were not Kushrenada's employees, but a separate entity, and therefore Wufei knew that the warden couldn't use them to get at Heero. The Chinese officer made himself a mental note to check the warden's background to be sure he had no connections to the L1 legal system.
Heero stepped into the cell, turning so the L1 officers could take the handcuffs off. "Wufei...you'll need to keep tabs on Maxwell. He won't take this lying down. None of them will."
"I know."
"I expect you to protect him from Kushrenada."
Wufei sighed and nodded. "I'll do the best I can."
"Meanwhile," Major Merquise cut in, "I have some papers here for you to sign, Yuy."
Heero looked at him with a perplexed expression, and then looked down at the forms. "Enlistment forms?"
Merquise nodded. "Trust me. You enlisted just after midnight...when you and your teammates won the capture the flag competition. This is just the paperwork to confirm it."
Heero glanced at Wufei, who gave a firm nod. "Do it, Yuy."
The boy signed the papers, and handed them back to the Major. "I'm not sure what the point is," he shrugged. "I won't be able to attend the Academy if I end up in prison."
"The point is, you're in the Mobile Suit Corps," replied the Major. "I've already sent in a request for your case to be handled in a military court, instead of the one on L1. And the Jag officer assigned to you will immediately petition the court to dismiss the charges, based on the extenuating circumstances and the fact that you were already punished for the assault in juvenile court. If all else fails and we don't get a military tribunal, he'll file a motion to get you back into juvenile court, since you were under age at the time of the alleged crime. One way or another, we will get you out of this."
Heero raised an eyebrow. "You've thought this all out rather thoroughly, haven't you?"
Major Merquise smiled. "You bet your ass, Yuy." His ice-blue eyes glimmered with resolve. "Captain Chang has spent months singing your praises." Here his gaze turned to the Chinese officer, warming appreciably. "And as rarely as Wufei hands out praise, I assign it great value." The intense gaze pinned the blue-eyed boy again. "I want you and your teammates at my Academy, and I'll do whatever lies within my power to get you there...all of you."
"Thank you," Heero said simply.
"I suggest you get some rest," added the Major. "Captain Chang and I have some details to discuss." He darted a glance at the L1 officers, who were near the door to the building. "In private."
The two MSC officers left, and Heero settled onto the edge of the bunk, looking around the cell with a heavy sigh. There were no windows, as it was in the middle of the building, and the one door had only a small peephole that a guard could use to peer in and check on an inmate. Other than that, there was a bunk, a sink and a toilet. But unlike the cement cell Duo had been imprisoned in, this one had normal walls and linoleum floors along with the flush toilet and the working sink. By those standards, it was almost luxurious.
Deciding he might as well make the most of it, Heero lay back on the bunk, knowing that Wufei would see that supper was brought to him, and that no one so much as laid a hand on him. In fact, the team leader was less concerned for his own welfare, and more concerned about what his teammate-become-boyfriend might try out of sheer desperation. "Dammit, Duo...trust 'Fei in this, please," he muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and trying to focus on other things, like how the braided boy's skin felt under his fingers, and how his kiss had been sweet with chocolate and peach brandy that night by the campfire.
~*~
Duo had no trouble slipping out from under his teammates' watchful eyes. Claiming to need a shower after traipsing around the forest for two days, he lured them out of the barracks. And once in the showers, he lingered, using the excuse of having to condition his hair, while they went back to the locker room. Once they were out of sight, he hastily braided his hair, pulled the uniform from his rolled-up towel, dressed while leaving the water running a few stalls over, and slipped out the rear exit, after picking the lock on the chain that held it shut.
He was grateful for the fact that the other inmates were all still out at the capture the flag competition, which meant the guard posts were manned by a skeleton crew, who took little notice of a single inmate crossing to the administration building.
Kushrenada's secretary wasn't in on weekends, so Duo crossed the outer office silently, and opened the warden's door without knocking. He closed the door behind him, very deliberately thumbing the lock so that the warden would notice.
Kushrenada looked up with little or no surprise, smiling wryly. "Come to kill me, Maxwell?" He dropped a hand to a gun on his desk. "Take one step this way, and I'll be justified in using this thing."
Duo shook his head, pressing his back against the door. "I'm not here for that, K. It's not like I have any weapons anyway."
"What about your survival knife?" The warden's tawny eyes narrowed slightly. "As I recall, you find knives lethal enough for your purposes."
"I'm not here to debate that again," Duo said curtly. "I'm here to tell you, you win." He shrugged slightly, turning his head to the side and glancing up at the man through the damp wisps of hair he'd carefully left loose. "Name your price, K. I'll give you whatever you want...do whatever you say...just let Yuy go."
Kushrenada laughed quietly. "Come to save your lover, eh?"
The boy nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes." He walked closer, forcing himself to look into the tawny eyes, instead of at the hand cradling the gun. "Just tell me what to do." He made his voice a little breathy--strained with emotion. "Please."
The warden stood up, his gaze running from Duo's head down to his feet as if searching for signs of a weapon. "D'you seriously expect me to believe you're ready to confess to the murder on L2? Just to save your fuck buddy?"
"He's more than that," Duo insisted. So much more! "I love him. And I'll do anything to save him."
"Anything?" came the speculative reply. A new gleam entered the tawny eyes...something predatory. It was just the look Duo had been hoping for. It gave him confidence that the warden might want just a little more from him than a confession for his brother's murder.
Duo skirted the desk, keeping his hands in plain sight so the man wouldn't get trigger-happy. "Anything. I promise."
Kushrenada wore a slight smirk as the boy invaded his personal space, indigo eyes looking up pleadingly, lips slightly parted as if in invitation. "You hate my guts, Maxwell," he said coolly. "Why should I believe you?"
"You don't have to believe me. I'm not saying you have to take anything on faith," Duo assured him. "Take what you want. Now. And then let Heero go."
"Since when did you become so trusting?"
"Since I have no choice." Yeah, Maxwell...that sounded desperate enough. Now if he'll just take the bait... "C'mon, K.," he coaxed. "What have you got to lose?"
The warden raised a hand to the boy's face, running elegant fingers down his jaw, and studying him with a skeptical gleam in his eyes. "Why do I get the feeling I'm about to get a knife in my ribs?" he asked coolly.
Duo held his arms out to the sides in a gesture of surrender. "Search me if you want to." He turned so his back was to the man, gritting his teeth to keep from shuddering at the nearness of his sworn enemy.
"I'll take your word for it," came the quiet response. "Turn around."
Duo obeyed, and Kushrenada lifted the boy's chin and leaned in to kiss him, deeply...almost obscenely.
Fighting his gag reflex, Duo allowed the invasion; swore he'd allow far more in order to get the warden into a compromising enough position to have leverage against him.
Treize pulled back slightly, looking down at the half-lidded indigo eyes that burned with barely-concealed hatred. "Hey, Maxwell," he whispered. "How stupid do you really think I am?"
Duo blinked in surprise, looking up sharply.
"You're seventeen, brat. If I take what you're offering, you can run right back to Chang and scream 'statutory rape,' at the top of your under age lungs."
The quick flash in the boy's eyes gave him away, and Kushrenada pushed him hard, sending him stumbling back into the wall. "Get the fuck out of my sight, Maxwell. You'll never see your precious fuck buddy again."
"I won't tell Chang. I swear!" Duo promised. "Just get them to release Heero."
"Get out!" snapped the warden, raising the gun and sighting down the barrel at the boy. "Get out or I'll fucking shoot you and put a goddamned knife in your hand!"
Duo didn't doubt for a minute that the bastard would do as he said. And even though Chang would raise hell about it, it would be too late for him. "Goddamn you, K. You fucking, obsessed asshole! I know you killed Yuy's guardian...and I swear I'll find a way to prove it."
"Murder isn't easy to prove, Maxwell. I know that firsthand. Now get the fuck out, or they'll take you out in a body bag."
Duo made a rather undignified exit, never taking his eyes from the weapon trained on his chest. When he made it out the door, he slammed it shut and ran, flinging open the outer door and bolting across the compound, only to run headlong into Captain Chang and Major Merquise.
"Aw, fuck!" he swore as he rebounded from the Major's broad chest, stumbling backwards and landing squarely on his ass in the dirt.
"Do I even want to know why you're sprinting across the compound, Maxwell?" asked the Major, a vaguely amused glint in his ice-blue eyes.
"I can tell you that," Chang interrupted, his dark eyes fairly snapping with fury. "You went to see Kushrenada, didn't you?" A brief vision of the warden lying dead in his office with a knife in his back flashed through Wufei's mind, but he dismissed it just as quickly, knowing Duo too well to believe he'd do something so drastic.
Duo nodded mutely, too ashamed to look the man in the eyes. "I thought...if I...that since it was all my fault..."
Wufei pulled the boy bodily to his feet, bringing him within inches of a scalding glare. "It was not your fault, Maxwell."
"If Kushrenada didn't hate me so much, he'd never have bothered setting Heero up."
"You assign yourself too much blame," Wufei said firmly. "Kushrenada is a bitter, manipulative bastard. He's hated the Peacecraft Initiative from the start. He wants it to fail. If you weren't here, he'd still want the program shot down."
"If he didn't think I murdered his brother, he wouldn't hate juvenile inmates so much," Duo muttered.
"Again, his misinterpretation of the facts of the case isn't your fault," Wufei insisted. He scowled at the boy, who winced. "What, exactly, were you trying to accomplish in his office?"
"More to the point..." added Merquise. "What sent you bolting like that?"
"I..." Duo looked down at the ground, blushing.
"You didn't!" Wufei snapped, realization dawning.
Merquise chuckled quietly. "Did you try to seduce the warden, Maxwell?"
"S-something like that."
"You idiot!" Wufei exploded, resisting the impulse to shake some sense into the boy. "What made you think he'd even be interested?" At the same time, a small voice in the back of his mind was asking him who in their right mind wouldn't be.
Duo glared defiantly at him. "The guard was." His voice was laced with bitterness as well as stubborn insistence.
The Chinese officer shook his head. "That's not the same, Maxwell. And what did you hope to accomplish by seducing Kushrenada anyway? Did you think he'd bargain with you for sex?"
Duo shrugged, looking away from the accusing gaze.
The Major chuckled quietly. "I think I get it," he crooned with satisfaction. "If he didn't arrange to clear Yuy, you'd have had him for statutory rape, is that it?"
"He set Heero up. I know he did," Duo said flatly. "Somehow, Kushrenada arranged to kill his guardian so Heero could be charged with murder." The indigo eyes finally met Wufei's angry, dark ones. "If he set it up, he knows who did it. And if it meant his career, I figured he'd sacrifice whoever it was."
Wufei exchanged a weary, pained look with Merquise, and then shook his head, amazed at the street kid's uncharacteristic naiveté. "Duo, even if Kushrenada wanted to, he couldn't release Heero right now. The L1 authorities have to conduct a full investigation, and until it's complete, Heero will be in custody."
Regardless of Kushrenada's underhanded tactics, he couldn't have freed Heero right at that moment if his life depended on it. "Come with us, Maxwell...my office. You, Zechs and I need to talk."
At that moment Trowa and Quatre jogged up, both panting from exertion and red-faced with anger.
"Duo Maxwell, if you ever sneak off like that again, I'll cut your hair in your sleep!" Quatre swore furiously, just before throwing his arms around the other boy.
"Whoa. Not the hair, Quat!" Duo gasped, swinging his braid out of reach just in case. "I'm sorry! I just...I had to give it a shot..."
"Give what a shot?" demanded Quatre, pushing him to arm's length.
"He threw himself on Kushrenada's mercy," Trowa guessed, shaking his head.
"You mean at Kushrenada," came Wufei's dry, disapproving voice.
Trowa shook his head. "Dumb move, Maxwell. You can't win against K. You were the one who told me that. Remember? Don't play his game."
Wufei glanced between the three boys, sensing more to the story. "Boys," he said gravely. "I think it's time you level with me."
Duo glanced from Trowa, to Quatre, and then back at Wufei. "I guess maybe it is," he conceded. But then his gaze went to Major Merquise, and turned wary. Hanging his head slightly, he glanced sidelong at Wufei. "Can we talk to you alone?" he asked quietly.
The Chinese officer understood at once. While these boys, Duo in particular, had learned he could be trusted, they weren't yet sure of Merquise. But just as he opened his mouth to tell Duo that anything that had to be said, could be said in front of the Major, Zechs cleared his throat.
"I'll be in the office, Chang. I expect to hear from Une any time now, and I'd like to be there to take the call."
"Sir, I--"
"You can join me when you four finish your discussion."
"Aye, sir." Wufei watched as the officer walked briskly away, and then turned a piercing gaze on Duo. "You could have trusted him, too, Maxwell. He's a fine officer."
"Yeah, and hot, too," Duo agreed with an irrepressible smirk. "But I don't know him well enough yet." He looked squarely into the onyx eyes. "I trust you, sir. Just you. And my teammates," he added.
Trowa put a reassuring hand on one of Duo's shoulders, while Quatre did the same to the other. "It's time to tell Chang what Kushrenada's done. All of it," said the green-eyed boy.
Duo eyed him warily. "But what about--?"
"All of it," Trowa repeated. "If he chooses to act on it, so be it. But if it helps Heero at all, it'll be worth it."
Duo looked at Quatre, who nodded as well, and then turned a wary gaze to Captain Chang. "You've got to understand, Chang. It's hard for us--trusting someone 'in the system'. But I do, so I'm gonna go out on a limb here." He explained all that Kushrenada had done, and said, and tried to do, from the very first day of camp. He went into as much detail as he could, about the perimeter fence, the backhand, the attempt to get Quatre to spy on his teammates, the boys' suspicions about the obstacle course sabotage, the escape of the prison guard dogs...and then he told them about the whole setup with Nanashi, and how Kushrenada had manipulated Trowa into cutting the rope.
Trowa finally took over after that, telling how he'd threatened to tell the truth, only to have Kushrenada threaten the dog's life one last time. And then the boy confessed to the drug use, and how the warden had admitted to being the supplier. He went as far as to tell the officer he'd gotten off the drugs, leaving out the doctor's role in helping him. If asked, all four boys from Team Wing would have sworn they had deceived the kindhearted lady into thinking Trowa only had a bad case of the flu.
Wufei listened to their account of Kushrenada's underhanded activities, dark eyes growing stormy with outrage. By the time the boys finished, he'd have put nothing past the vindictive warden. In fact, he rather wished he'd pushed the guard who assaulted Duo even harder; perhaps the man would have confessed that Kushrenada put him up to it.
Finally, Wufei's stern gaze settled on Duo. "Maxwell--I forbid you to ever set foot in a room alone with Kushrenada again!" he said sharply. "Do you realize the risk you took?"
Duo hung his head, looking slightly ashamed. "I know it was stupid. I just wanted to help Heero so badly."
"You can do that by staying out of trouble until he returns," Wufei said firmly, taking the opportunity to slide in a cautionary statement.
"I just hate to see K. get away with this shit!"
"He won't. But first things first--we have to help Heero. Even if we know Kushrenada is behind all the bullshit, we can't stop the process Heero's caught up in. Only after we've cleared him can we concentrate on bringing Kushrenada down."
"You say that like you're sure he'll be cleared," Duo began. "But what if--?"
"We're not considering 'what ifs' right now," Chang asserted. "I am confident that Major Merquise and I can clear Heero of the charges." His eyes turned steely. "Then, I want to see just how much grief I can cause Kushrenada for trying to sabotage the Peacecraft Initiative and for his persecution of you, Duo, and your teammates. I want to give him a taste of true justice." He eyed all three boys searchingly. "When the time comes, will you help me?"
Duo grinned evilly. "I'll do anything you say, if it will bring down Kushrenada."
"We all will!" Trowa assured him. "I'm willing to wear a wire and get him on drug distribution, if we can."
"Well, since that whole 'statutory rape' idea was whacked from the start," Duo conceded, "we may as well get him for whatever we can."
"We'll see," Chang said with a shrug. "I'd really like to get evidence that he had a hand in Odin Lowe's death--but I could settle for busting him for drug dealing. At least it would remove him from the juvenile justice system." He spared a stern look at Trowa. "As for you, Barton, and what your actions did to your team-- Not to mention drug use here at boot camp--"
"I know, sir. I was wrong. And you can punish me any way you want, if you just let me help gather evidence against Kushrenada first."
Duo shook his head. "Captain Chang...if you punish Trowa, you'll have to punish us all. We helped cover it up." He gave his guardian his most appealing look. "I know he broke some rules...but only to save Nanashi. And he got off the drugs...and saved my life on that cliff. If I could forgive him, you should be able to as well."
"It's not a matter of forgiveness," said the officer. "It's a matter of principle."
"--and justice?" Duo suggested. "I think his withdrawal was a pretty adequate punishment for the drugs. And when he saved my life, I sure think it made up for his selling me out before."
Wufei nodded in slight concession. "There is a certain poetic justice in the way the scales were balanced." His dark eyes were warmer when he looked back at Trowa. "You aren't off the hook, Barton. But the worst punishment I might visit upon you is that you have to attend some drug counseling. I think that's something you could live with, don't you?"
Trowa nodded, seeing no logical way to disagree. "Whatever you decide, sir, so long as it happens after we make things right for Heero and bring Kushrenada down."
"We will defeat him," Wufei promised. "We will watch for an opportunity to present itself. Or we will create one of our own. You boys have proven to be adept at seizing opportunities. I'm sure this will be no exception."
"Whatever you need, count on us," Quatre said firmly, aquamarine eyes resolute.
Wufei nodded. "What I need right now is for you boys to cool your heels in your barracks for a while. The rest of the recruits should be back by nightfall, and supper will be a bit late."
"We'll see to it that Duo stays out of trouble," Quatre promised, darting a stern look at the braided boy.
"Good. I'll stop by the barracks when I have more information to give you," Wufei promised, before turning to head off in the direction Merquise had gone.
~*~
When he got to the office, he wasted no time in small-talk. "Well?" he asked the Major, saluting and then throwing himself wearily into a chair.
"Colonel Une said to allow extradition."
"Shit."
"Don't worry, Chang. I got permission for you to go with him. He won't be left alone with colony law enforcement, and within the next forty-eight hours, we should have a judge's ruling on whether the military can claim jurisdiction."
"Well, if the courts have the right to try him as an adult, for a crime he allegedly committed as a juvenile, we should certainly be able to claim the right to try him in a military tribunal, for a crime he allegedly committed as a civilian."
"You see why I'm sending you with him?" Merquise asked with a smirk. "You have such a silver tongue, Wufei." He put a certain emphasis on the words 'tongue' and 'Wufei' that made the other officer start to blush slightly.
"Ah, thank you...sir," Wufei managed rather weakly. "Uh..." So much for that 'silver tongue'. "When will we be shipping out?"
"First thing in the morning."
"Is there a chance in Hell that the officers will let Heero's team say goodbye?"
"I'll see what I can do. Perhaps I can get permission for them to be out in the compound when the transport's ready to leave. They could at least see him off."
Wufei nodded, already dreading having to tell Maxwell there'd be no goodbye kiss. But then, the boy was smart enough to have figured that out already. "I'll go tell his teammates to expect him to be gone before breakfast tomorrow," he sighed.
Major Merquise looked at him with a positively devilish gleam in his ice-blue eyes. "And are you going to stand watch tonight to make sure they're where they ought to be?" he asked.
"Sir?" Wufei tried to sound innocently clueless.
"You've told me too much about them," Merquise noted. "I expect them to break every rule in the book trying to get to their leader for a last visit."
"So do I," sighed the Chinese officer. "As soon as all my officers get back in from the field exercise, I'm going to station a couple to watch over Yuy, and a couple more to watch over the Team Wing barracks tonight."
"You can threaten the boys with prison if you like," suggested the Major. "I won't send them there, but they don't know that."
Wufei grinned a bit wickedly. "I'll do my best to throw the fear of God into them, sir." He gave a cocky salute and headed out to deliver the news to Team Wing.
~*~
"What do you mean--first thing in the morning?" Duo demanded of Wufei. "We'll get to see him, won't we?"
"I don't know. The Major's going to talk to the L1 officers and see if a brief visit could be arranged." He sighed quietly. "Don't count on it."
Duo turned away, his shoulders slumping.
"Maxwell." Wufei waited until the boy glanced over his shoulder. "Do me a favor, and don't try to sneak into the detention building to see him?"
Duo shrugged, tilting his head slightly. "No promises, Chang." Already the street kid was formulating a plan borne of desperation.
Sonofa--! "Maxwell, as your guardian and your superior officer, I'm ordering you to stay away from the detention building tonight."
Duo threw a sloppy salute. "Understood," he said simply. Not 'obeyed,' but 'understood.'
"That's not-- Oh, never mind." Wufei glared. "But mark my words, Maxwell--if I catch you out of bounds tonight, you can kiss the Academy goodbye."
Duo had the decency to wince slightly. Then he nodded, his expression still defiant.
"Please--" Wufei began, before his pride kicked in and he resolved not to beg the boy for something he knew he'd never get. "You boys can head over to the mess hall any time," he snarled gruffly. "Then you get your asses back here and stay put. I promise, I will be monitoring your compliance to my orders."
"Yes, sir," Quatre sighed, looking at Trowa for reinforcement, and then at Duo's stubbornly-set jaw. "I'll--we'll--do our best not to let you down." But when he saw the gleam of determination in Duo's eyes, he knew that would be impossible.
Trowa knew it, too, and didn't even try to pretend. "Let's get some supper," he said to his teammates as Captain Chang walked out of the barracks.
"Sure...a last meal sounds about right," Duo shrugged, preceding his two teammates out the door.
TBC...
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