Merc

Trowa POV

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Eleven.

There were eleven names on the list of Heero Yuy’s potential assassins. At first, I admired his resolve. I knew the death hanging over his head was weighing down on him, but he pushed on despite that. He was completely committed to handing a gun to every one of those family members and letting them become judge, jury, and executioner.

But as the list of names dwindled, and he still lived, there was a gradual change within him. It was no longer as if it wore him down, that death that hovered over him. It was as if that death became his competition.

He became more and more frustrated with everyone who spit insults at him and walked away. Every one of them became angry, tears of unfulfilled rage, confusion, so many emotions buried until the killer immerged and presented himself. So many who had the chance to end him.

But none did, and he grew more and more restless. On the surface, he was as calm as ever, but I could see the tension that infused his body. He was constantly on edge, restrained, wanting to be set free.

That was when I knew…somewhere within that list of ten people, I realized: he wanted to die.

He had said as much when he regained consciousness in my trailer, that he was supposed to die with honor. I guess being shot down like a common criminal by a vigilante victim was honor in his book, maybe retribution. I don’t know.

But as the list grew shorter and shorter, I became less and less enamored of his resolve to set things right, and more irritated with his drive to put his life into someone else’s hand. If he wanted to die, just put the gun to your head and flex your finger, but he wanted someone else to do it.

Is that why Sylvia Noventa called him a coward? Did she see his death wish so much sooner than I? Or was it as she had said, that he wanted to take the easy way out? There was validity in that point as well. Heero Yuy had killed the ones that would have ended the war before it started; did it fall to him to find a way to single-handedly fix the now-raging war? Was it his responsibility to end the war in their stead? No.

But he could do a hell of a lot more to help than die.

The last one. We were in Sicily, and he was on the last name on that list, Marshall Noventa’s wife, and he had lived. We were shown the way out rather abruptly; I didn’t blame her, Heero’s arrival was not expected, and he was not the tactful one.

As the elaborate, wrought iron gate closed behind us, I took great joy in scratching out the last name on the list. “Are you satisfied now? This was the last stop.”

He hadn’t faced me yet, still looking back at the estate we had just left. His head dropped, almost as if defeated. “Its not that simple a thing.”

“You can’t forgive yourself for killing the pacifists even though it was a mistake. And it happened because you were tricked by Oz.” I could hear the hint of impatience color my voice as I explained it in simple terms. He may have thought it complicated in his head, but the truth of the matter was, it was very simple. He was looking for a way to die rather than live with the shame of their deaths.

He turned slightly, still not facing me, but no longer staring at the Noventa palazzo.

“I can sympathize, but to go as far as putting your life in the hands of your victims’ family…” I let the statement trail off, hoping he would see the fruitlessness of his search for vindication.

“Its what I want.” He began walking back into town.

I could feel the glare forming on my face, but it wasn’t like he would see it as he began walking away. I wiped all traces of emotion from my face and fell into step beside him.

There was a black car that pulled out behind us as we walked down the hill from our visit with Signora Noventa. It passed us without incident, but as we walked among the marketplace streets, vendors yelling out advertisements for their wares, streets crowded with people, the same car pulled up behind us once again. He noticed it, too.

“Going from place to place like this, I figured it would only be a matter of time before someone found us.” I took a sideways stance, so I could get a clearer picture of our tail without making it obvious they had been spotted.

He turned to look at me; it was the first time that he could look me in the face since this morning. I couldn’t help but wonder if he realized how my opinion of him had changed in the past few days. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Wait. You’d better not overdo it in the state you’re in, so I’ll go and stop them.” I was torn. I wanted, badly, to be away from him right now, but I also couldn’t really stand the thought of him hurting himself again. I still felt like I needed to protect him, that need to see him healed had become deeply rooted within me. Besides, It wouldn’t be hard, in a place as busy as this.

“Thank you, Trowa.”

There was a covered, cargo truck coming up the street. There was also a parked motorbike in the side alley next to me. There would be no better opportunity, so I stood right in the center of the market street, blocking the path of the truck. Heero must have guessed what I was doing because he stood right there with me until the truck slowed and stopped, honking at us.

I moved to the side slower than Heero, so the driver was watching me for a split second longer. As it passed, Yuy hopped into the back and I ducked down the side alley; it was perfectly timed so that, the truck blocked the tailing car’s view of both of us.

The truck began to move past the oncoming car, but by that time, I had hijacked the motorcycle, and was waiting for them. The truck passed, revealing me staring straight at our stalkers and revving the bike, taunting them. I drove the bike straight at them and last second, pulled a screeching turn down an alley.

The car turned in after me, barely able to fit through the tight space. The motorbike had speed and agility. I loved the feel, the rush of the wind in my face as I drove, but the car was gaining on me. It didn’t matter; I only needed half a second.

My eyes focused on the clothes lines that hung from windows in the alleyway. Weight balanced, I pulled my feet onto the seat and launched myself up, flipping over the car that rushed past, beneath me, and landed softly on the laundry line above. I watched, smirk painting my lips, as the bike continued on, jumping the small barrier and flying out into the Sicilian Channel. The car, unable to stop quickly enough, slammed into a lamp post, saving them a watery death.

But they would probably have at least a concussion with the speed they hit. My gift to you, wear it well.

I turned and casually walked across the line to the wall opposite me. Leaping up, I took to the heights, followed the rooftops, and began making my way back to the hangar where Heavyarms, and probably Heero as well, was waiting. Having made it safely, I dropped to the ground. The hangar hold door was left cracked open; I looked around for any other sign of a tail, and then ducked inside quickly.

Heero tossed me an apple as I came near, his voice echoed in the large room. “Thanks, I owe you.”

“No problem.” I caught it with my left hand. I probably shouldn’t have, but if Heero hadn’t realized I was a southpaw, yet, he wasn’t nearly observant enough to survive in this war. But then again, I could shoot, throw, and lead with either hand in a fight, so I guess it really didn’t matter.

I looked up to the transport truck that held my gundam. “So, if we’re gonna transport this thing, we can’t do it by land.”

If we were already being tailed, as slow and obvious as a truck that big was, there was no way land would be safe.

“Then by sea.” Heero picked up the train of thought, though he had, most likely, been thinking the same thing.

“There’s a ship I’ve had my eye on, but now that we know we’re being watched by those guys, it might make my plan too difficult.” There was a ruse that could work with the right angle, but if whoever was tailing us had any pull with the local captains, we were stuck here for a while.

“You can use my carrier.” A feminine voice came from behind me and echoed through the room; I froze. “I didn’t expect you to truly be alive. This is the first time we meet, face to face.”

Heero’s eyes looked over my shoulder, flicking down to where I kept my gun hidden. It meant she didn’t have me covered. I got her position from my peripheral vision as she began walking towards us.

I turned quickly, bringing the apple up with a flourish, a bright red target that kept my hand busy. Only now my hand was on my gun, and it was trained on her head. It was a slight of hand trick to catch her eye, a small distraction, but distraction enough. My slight-of-hand had improved since my stay at the circus.

The apple hit the ground and rolled toward the intruder. She took a few more steps, still talking. “My name is Lucrezia Noin. I serve under Colonel Zechs.”

I didn’t care what her name or rank was. She was wearing an Oz uniform, and she had seen our faces. She knew too much.

“Zechs?” But apparently, Heero cared who she was.

“He was the pilot you fought against when you were out in Siberia.” She spoke only to Heero, she had since she entered the hangar; I was a non-entity in this conversation.

Irritating. “Don’t think we won’t put up a fight if you try to catch us.” My gun stayed trained right between her eyes as she bent down to pick up the dropped fruit.

“Colonel Zechs says he’d like to meet with you.” My words went unanswered, her eyes trained on my companion.

But I wasn’t buying it. “He does, does he? What does he think he can try to pump us for information or something?”

Her eyes rested on me for the first time. “Don’t misunderstand me. He’s not requesting this as a soldier of Oz. As a fellow pilot of a mobile suit, Colonel Zechs wants to see you in hopes for another opportunity to fight you boys in the near future.”

If he wasn’t requesting it as an Oz soldier, then she shouldn’t have come dressed in her uniform. It was too conspicuous, and she was drawing even more attention to us when we were already being watched. I didn’t like it, not at all.

“So he wants to fight us again does he? Sounds like this Zechs fellow is an admirable guy.” I was being sarcastic, but she didn’t react to my baiting.

“Its up to you guys whether or not you want to believe me.”

“Where is he?” Heero surprised me, though.

“You’re going to trust her?” I couldn’t help the disbelief that colored my tone and face. He was going with her, in her carrier, alone to an Oz base filled with Oz soldiers, who knew he would be coming, without a suit, trapped in a carrier piloted by Ozzies.

“He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to plant a trap.” Heero’s face was resolved, complete faith in his statement.

It took him hours in my care to begin to trust that I wouldn’t harm him, but just one fight with an Oz Colonel gained his confidence. Unbelievable. “No? Then it looks like my mobile suit will come in handy.”

What other choice did I have? I want him to live; it seems almost as much as he wants someone to kill him.

“Trowa” His voice was soft, hesitant, as he realized I was coming with him.

My face left no question as to that fact. Yeah, Heero, you’re confidence in this man may well kill us both, but it was both or none, because my resolve is just as strong as yours, am I’m coming with you.

Her voice broke through our silent communication. “Dock 213A, the shuttle will launch at 2100, you boys have some work to do, so I’ll leave you to it.”

I turned away from him, fighting the urge to shake my head, and headed for the cab of the truck. Heavyarms would have to be moved, and the best time would be now, before the guys tailing us woke up from their little lamp-post-induced nap.

Heero followed me silently.

As I turned on the engine, I let some of what I was feeling be voiced. “We’re friends, right?”

He hesitated for a second before nodding. Maybe he knew hat was coming.

“Permission to speak freely, Heero?” I was uncomfortable with it all, so I fell back on old habits from my time with the military routine of my old merc unit.

Heero simply nodded again.

“I don’t like this. There are too many opportunities for Oz in this whole situation, and all just for you to face a former opponent, one you will most likely meet again on the battlefield in the future. Why force it now?”

He was silent for a few moments as I pulled the truck out of the cargo hold. As the sunlight poured into the windows, he spoke. “It was left unfinished, that’s all the explanation I can give.”

“I saw part of the fight between you two as I targeted the mobile doll prototypes.” Heero nodded, and I continued. “Do you really think you can finish the fight with this guy with your injuries?”

He refused to look at me. “I can; I’m sure of it.”

“Ok, then. I guess you’ll have to use the trip there to familiarize yourself with my suit.” I needed to know that this wasn’t another attempt at death. I needed that reassurance that this wasn’t another attempt to hand a gun to an enemy.

He never came out and said: I’m not trying to die, but I was going to trust that he wouldn’t use my suit as a tomb.

We got my suit and all of our gear loaded onto the shuttle. The shuttle was one of the newer models used by the Oz Specials, the bastards that had betrayed their Alliance brothers and shot them in their backs. This just keeps getting better and better.

But, on the bright side, I might have a chance to stroll through the vessel to look for structural weak points, where the ammunition was held, and other fun facts that made it easier to shoot down. It would be done because I have no doubt they would be doing the same for Heero and I.

We were strapped in for take off, then we immediately made for my suit. I don’t know if Heero was following my lead, or if he felt as sketchy as I did about being so exposed and surrounded by enemies.

If it was a trap, I wanted to be near my mobile suit. I could fight through anything with my suit, but if I couldn’t get to my gundam, both of us were vulnerable. En route, Heero spent the time familiarizing himself with Heavyarms. My suit was laid out on its back in the cargo hold as per the Oz engineers’ orders.

You can make of that what you will; I however took it as a compliment. If shit went down, they wanted Heavyarms at as big a disadvantage as possible, but I didn’t need to be standing to rip holes through this shuttle.

Yuy was in the driver’s seat as I sat on the ledge of the cockpit looking down on him. Heero pulled on the control for the left arm and grunted in pain as the gun arm barely moved. This wasn’t going to be easy for him. “Has the left arm been automatically balanced to account for the extra weight?”

“No, I avoided that on purpose. I force myself to remember the weight difference so I’ll have a speed advantage during battle.” But he had only to ask, and I would balance it for him.

He didn’t. “Makes sense.” He lifted the suit’s right arm and flicked out the switchblade. “Has the shield also been attached to the Gatling arm?”

“Yeah, but its heavy.” Ask me, Heero, mentally I pleaded with him, but he didn’t.

His eyes met mine for a second of absolute stillness. “Sorry. Normally, we wouldn’t want anyone going around, touching our mobile suits, would we?”

“Well then I guess you’d better hurry up and figure out this guy.” The stubborn ass is determined to do this despite his disadvantage, and he wouldn’t let me help in the slightest.

“Yeah, but this time I’m going to defeat Zechs.” He tried again to lift the left arm, but the strain caused him to groan in pain before blood soaked through the fresh bandage.

“That’s enough for now.” I watched the pain force the skin around his eyes to tighten, and his arm went slack.

He nodded silently and climbed out of the cockpit as I grabbed the med-kit from my duffle. Heero stayed still while cleaned and redressed the wound he had split open with his efforts.

Then all there was left to do was wait until we arrived at our destination.

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Sorry it took so long to get this up, I've got several ideas coming together in my head, and I want to make sure I don't miss anything. I'm super excited about the next chapter!!!

Anyways, hope you liked it. Review responses are posted on my authors page. Thanks for reading.

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