Alone

DISCLAIMER: How many times do I gotta say it? *whispers* i own nothing.

AN: Okay, I am officially *obsessed* with this story! What happened to updating twice a week? That's what I said I was going to do! I'm such a LIAR! I've updated every day! And I've already got the chapter half-written for tomorrow. EEEEP! (but my MUSE is sooooo happy!) Oh, and Obsidian Pixie? Yes. I'll take the sugar and the cookies! Sweet stuff does make me write more! Maybe this is YOUR fault! hahahahahah! (thank you)

CHAPTER SEVEN:


Wufei fought his way back to consciousness through cotton-candy darkness. He felt slow, heavy - felt as though the blood in his veins was too thick for his heart to pump. He struggled weighty eyelids open to the gentle light of evening. He saw Osborne rolled up in a sleeping bag, snoring cheerfully, while his four friends sat close around a tiny fire, silently sharing rations. He let his eyes fall back to slits, preferring to just watch them without them being aware he was awake. He’d missed seeing them - wanted to get his fill this way before he actually had to converse and interact with them. He was sure it would be awkward after nine months, felt a bit of uncertain fear at the prospect of their demanding an explanation for his silence.

He didn’t know how to explain Major Hernbeck’s bullying. Had no excuse for why he’d allowed it to continue.

~Is ‘I didn’t care’ a valid excuse?~

But maybe they didn’t know. Maybe it really was a coincidence that they were here. Perhaps they’d been sent in, like Osborne, when the higher-ups thought he’d failed his mission. Well, if that was the case, they would be glad to go home. Hopefully they’d go quickly.

~Hopefully they’ll stay forever.~

No, that wasn’t what he wanted! He didn’t care much for his life here, but he faced the prospect of going back to fifth wheel status with a marked lack of enthusiasm. Maybe he’d just quit the Preventers, go and carve himself out a life somewhere else. Somewhere near the ocean, he rather liked the ocean...

Duo was suddenly hovering above him. “Hey, Wu-man. I can tell you’re awake. Feel like eating?”

He shook his head, but apparently he wasn’t really being given the choice. Gentle hands lifted his head and shoulders and leaned them against Heero’s lap, while Duo offered him a spoonful of dark liquid. He felt like he ought to rage at them for treating him like such an infant, but the first attempt at lifting a hand failed utterly. His limbs had apparently turned to stone.

“C’mon, ‘Fei, open up.” Duo said softly, touching the edge of the spoon to his lips. Wufei sighed and opened his mouth, rolling his eyes expressively at Duo’s immediate grin.

“Hey, does this mean I can call you Wu-baby, too?”

“Maxwell.” He managed to get a bit of warning into his thin voice before the second spoonful of broth was stuck in his mouth. Duo only snickered at him.

“I’ve almost missed that. No one else can get such meaning into my last name.” Wufei was too tired to roll his eyes again. It was taking all his energy to focus on swallowing the warm liquid Duo kept feeding him. His friend seemed to realize this, and shut up to concentrate on the task at hand. After the seventh or eighth spoonful Wufei felt sleep clawing at his eyelids again, and refused to open his mouth the next time the spoon tapped against it.

“C’mon, ‘Fei, you’ve barely had any.” That low sentence brought a concerned Trowa and Quatre into view. The blond leaned forward and brushed a gentle hand across Wufei’s forehead.

“He’s a little warm.” That brought Heero’s hand up to check for himself, and he grunted in agreement. Trowa vanished from sight, only to return with a small thermometer. Wufei tightened his lips a little - he did *not* need all this pampering! - but it didn’t matter. It was a battery-operated thermometer, and went in his ear. He felt stupid for a moment, and sorely wished he had the strength to turn his head away. He didn’t understand why he suddenly felt so drained and empty. He’d had enough energy to function last night.

“Up a few degrees.” Trowa said, short and to the point as always.

“When’s the chopper due?” Duo demanded, reaching out to lay a hand on Wufei’s cheek.

“Dawn.”

“Can’t it get here sooner?”

Quatre glanced at the still-snoring Osborne and lowered his voice. “We’re only able to request from the Major. We can’t request from Une without going through him. He claims there’s no copters available until dawn.” Quatre frowned as he said it - they’d all seen a half-dozen copters under tarps when they’d landed at the small airfield. Some looked like they’d been there for awhile.

Wufei had given up trying to follow their conversation. He was focusing on Osborne, and something about the man was bothering him. He couldn’t... quite... something from the one mission he’d had with the other man... “Duo!” His whisper was enough to freeze all four of the others.

“Yeah, ‘Fei?” The braided boy leaned over to catch the faint voice.

“Osborne... he... he doesn’t...” Wufei took a shaky breath, suddenly feeling faint, his head reeling.

“‘Fei? Doesn’t what? He doesn’t what?” Duo’s voice was a hiss in his ear.

“S...snore. He... doesn’t...” All four of their heads jerked back to stare at the other agent, only to find themselves carefully covered by a gun.

“Now, now. Don’t look so startled, boys! You should have known Major Hernbeck wouldn’t send such an absolute fool as me out into the jungle! Step away from Mr. Chang, there’s some good lads.” They hesitated, and he waggled the gun at them.

“Now, now. Don’t want poor little Chang to get a lovely bullet hole through an arm or leg, do you? C’mon, step away from him.” They obeyed, reluctant, and all four went stiff as he moved to kneel next to their comrade. He darted out a hand and used his thumb to push up an eyelid.

“My, my. I think he took more of that broth than I expected. Swallowed the whole cup down, did he?” Duo glanced down at the tin cup he was still carrying, almost completely full of broth. ‘Fei had barely made a dent in it. If Osborne thought he’d had it all - he deliberately let most of the liquid slosh out while the older agent was still looking down at Wufei.

“What’s in it?” Quatre forced the words past stiff lips.

“Just a little sedative, mixed in with the beef bullion. Nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?!” Quatre nearly wailed the words. “In his condition? Too much of a sedative could *kill* him right now!”

“Aw, calm down, Blondie! It’s just a mild one! We need to know exactly what he saw on this mission before anything... happens... to him.” There was a dark threat in his tone, and the pilots stared at each other wildly.

“What do you mean?” Heero’s voice was eternally calm and flat.

“Oh, not much. Just a little understanding between these mercs and certain of us Preventers. Nothing you need to concern your young heads about. Chang’s head, however...” He patted Wufei’s hair with a rough hand. “Well, Chang’s head just depends on how well he cooperates.”

“Wrote it all down.” Wufei’s voice was soft, dreamy. He was apparently on the edge of consciousness.

“What?! Wrote it *down*? Where?” When Wufei didn’t answer the demanding voice, Osborne started to search him roughly. Wufei cringed when the hands patted down his ribs, and Heero snarled.

“Oh! I’m sorry, did that hurt?” The hands hovered over his ribs for a second, then clamped down hard. Wufei arched back, struggling, lips pressed tight against a scream. His vision seemed to fold in on itself, and he fought back unconsciousness. He vaguely heard Duo yelling, sensed the hands leave to catch up the gun, and waited, his heart breaking, for a shot to ring out. It didn’t happen.

He clawed his way ferociously back to awareness, slitting his eyes to see Osborne above him, one arm around his chest as he held Wufei against his side, the gun in his other hand pressed firmly against his temple.

“Yeah, yeah, try something else, and your little pretty boy gets it.”

~Moron. Wait, pretty boy?~

“Let him go.” Heero’s voice - he couldn’t focus his eyes enough to see more of his friends than blurs.

“Why should I? Think I want to lose my bargaining chip? Think I wanna have to explain why I didn’t complete *my* mission?” Osborne’s arm tightened, putting pressure against Wufei’s chest. He was already straining to breathe in the awkward position, this wasn’t helping. His vision started to tunnel again, and he forced himself to stay awake.

“Why do you care so much what he saw? Every building in this sorry jungle is listed at Preventer’s headquarters.” Was that Quatre or Duo? His ears were filled with an odd buzzing noise.

Osborne snorted. “We don’t care what *buildings* he saw. If his mission is complete he knows who the Boss Man is. Can’t let him walk unless he agrees to cooperate.”

“Sure. We’re not idiots. Gundam pilots, remember? You can’t afford to let him walk at all. So if you’re just going to kill him anyway, why should we cooperate now? If you shoot him, that’s better than taking him somewhere to be tortured.”

~Gee, thanks, Duo...~

Wufei found a tiny bit of strength in the humor of his sarcasm, and it was more than enough. He twisted suddenly, dropping his head and jerking his body from Osborne’s casual grasp. He’d apparently thought Wufei too far gone for any attempts of his own - despite the pressure he felt on his chest, Osborne was barely holding on to him. He hit the ground hard and rolled away, depending on his friends to take care of the gun while the agent was still surprised. He heard yells, scuffling feet, then a solid whap and a geyser of dirt fountained up next to his head. He yelped and rolled again, hitting undergrowth and scrambling for cover, sudden adrenaline getting him to his feet and running.

~Like a coward.~

He switched neatly, rocketing back towards the camp in time to plow full into Osborne. The man stared at him like a retarded ox, and he snatched the gun from his hand and whacked the barrel against his head. Now he dropped like a felled ox, and Wufei was about to dash into the clearing, make sure none of his friends were shot, when he realized there were far too many voices there. He went straight up a tree, his climbing skills now at cat-like prowess, and gazed down at his friends, standing surrounded by mercs.

~Bad.~