Claimed: bent or broken??

Left turn. Pass two hallways, another left, a right at the next intersection. Around the curve, through another maze of turns, to the hallway on the far east side. The whole section was supposed to be offices of high ranking OZ personnel. Heero paused outside the specified door, trying not to squirm as he mentally double checked that he was indeed in the right place. Confirming that, and ignoring the steady distractions that sourced from other parts of his body, he tinkered with the security pad and cleared the door. Only to stop in surprise and frustration.

The room was clearly not an office- rather, a living room styled area of a bedroom suite. The actual bedroom appeared to his left through a wide open door, and a small alcove ahead held a computer- presumably, the one he was supposed to hack. Although things had just gotten much riskier, it was a mission- and Heero was determined to spend as much time away from the safe house as possible. He had to try- his back was still painful, but not raw, his hole still sore enough it remained a distraction. He needed a break from the two teammates he each called ‘master’.

Sneaking further into the room, he closed the door without a sound and cleared the area. He couldn’t know for sure whose room it was, but this late at night he could bet they were asleep. Heero crept toward the bedroom to discover it was empty. Oh goody. Room secured, he perched before the computer and proceeded to search and acquire all the necessary information that, luckily, was on this drive. He was midway through downloading the information before the alarm pad next to the door beeped and he heard the locks release. He blanked the screen to the dark screensaver it had been on and ducked under the desk before the door opened far enough to risk exposure. If the room’s occupant decided to come to the computer, he’d be found. So much for a quiet in and out mission.

Footsteps, clear on the polished wood, muffled as they hit the carpet of the bedroom area. Heero cautiously peered around the edge of the desk. The officer had his back to the main room. Risking not getting quite all the information, Heero reached up and removed the disk all the data had been sent to. His job was done... he just needed to get out. He again checked where the officer was- now out of sight. The sink in the bedroom’s adjoining bath turned on, and Heero made a break for the door.

Light flooded the rooms even as the sound of a gun cocking echoed loudly. Heero froze, hand almost to his own gun. He hadn’t been able to get to the door or cover. Crap.

“Pilot 01.” Heero slowly turned his head, relaxing his arm away from his weapon. No need to get shot, not right now. Mission incomplete. “Khushrenada?”

The officer’s jacket hung from his shoulders, wide open, along with the shirt underneath. It revealed a splash of sickly green and yellow, last stage marks of a very bad bruise. It spread from his shoulder down onto his ribs, mottled a bit as it neared the center of his chest. The unmarked side held up a pistol in a steady grip. Heero could tell the center of his chest had been targeted. “I know you have at least one weapon, Zero- One. Slowly remove everything and put it on the floor. Now.”

Heero carefully slid his pistol from its spot at the small of his back and chucked it toward the couch. It bounced off the cushion and landed heavily on the floor. He didn’t reach for the extra magazine tucked carefully into an added pocket in his shorts. He withdrew a thin blade though, one he occasionally took on missions like this. He preferred his gun, but sometimes stealth missions required something quiet and more personal. The sharp knife landed point down, two feet away from Heero, buried into the hardwood flooring. The data disk stayed tucked next to his skin. “I’m not here to kill you, Treize.” He wouldn’t talk about the mission, but if he could get out of here in one piece, he’d be grateful. Duo had declared any unnecessary wounds would not only not be tolerated, but he’d ensure it was a lesson Heero never forgot. Considering how inventive the other pilot was, he guessed it’d be worse than whatever wounds he sustained.

He refused to be at Duo’s mercy, if he could avoid it. The braided boy had a twisted sense of mercy, and a painful taste in pleasure.

Treize arched one elegant eyebrow, not quite certain if he believed the boy. He paced into the room, gun arm steady. “It’s useless to ask what you were doing then.” His free hand pointed towards heavy drapes behind the computer area, masking a window. “Leave. Your weapons stay here, but you must go.” Heero’s scathing look spoke loudly. “There is no use to your capture, I don’t think I’m willing to risk the men and resources containing you would take tonight. So just leave, before I have to shoot you.” ‘Wufei would kill me if that happened,’ he mentally added. He hated the thought the instant it popped up, but knew it was true. Wufei would finish what he’d started that night, but Treize wouldn’t survive the encounter. He knew that with a clarity he found slightly disturbing.

Heero wasn’t about to argue with Treize- he was being permitted to leave with his skin unmarked and body intact. Actually, ordered to leave was far more accurate. But he still felt a glimmer of relief seep into him as he slowly walked towards the covered window. The knowledge that a gun was stilled aimed at him just motivated him to leave before Treize changed his mind. He opened the glass and glanced back at the bold officer sighting on him. “If we ever meet again, Treize-... ”

“I know, Zero- One. Orders are orders.” The Gundam pilot nodded and disappeared into the darkness around the base. Treize watched him for a moment before sealing the window and putting down his weapon. “Maybe next time I will embrace my death and let you be the means to my destruction.” The soft words whispered into the night, full of meaning, went unheard.


****

The woods were too quiet, Heero noticed. Even this close to a military base the woods would be alive with birds, the soft sounds of night predators, and other such noise. But the trees bore an absolute silence that disturbed him. Trowa had said once, that this utter quiet was the calm in the face of danger, like that of a great predator. It set Heero on edge, knowing there could be something out there that could really hurt him. He’d left his main weapon- his gun- on Treize’s table. He had a spare blade tucked into his boot, his extra ammo- but no gun. If some big bad predator decided he would make a great meal, Heero wasn’t sure he’d manage to survive.

He managed to get in sight of Wing, eager to take his Gundam and slip away into the night. He had set up the tracker in his mecha to disengage half an hour after leaving the site, to prevent his companions from following him. Time away to regroup and make himself back into the perfect soldier again, and he needed to be away from the pair that would “own” him.

His tedious plans failed at the sight of Wufei’s Nataku, standing in the open by Wing. Both cockpits were braced open, both seemed empty. But the presence of another Gundam could have been what disturbed the forest creatures enough to cause this quiet. Heero hoped that was the reason. Or Wufei was out hunting- and that did not bode well. Heero flitted from tree to tree, using every bit of cover to see if both Gundams were alone. Maybe he could make his escape after all, if he could leave before Wufei returned.

A loud sound of a branch cracking under some weight arrested Heero’s movement, leaving him lingering in the shadows of a tree not far from his Gundam’s foot. Slowly, to avoid being seen, he knelt into the brush surrounding his feet and peered around. He couldn’t see anything. He decided to make a break for the Gundams. Only to go flying as soon as he stood, his feet ripped out from under his body. He rolled to cushion his fall, and wound up staring into red-gold eyes.

This was the reason for utter silence in the woods, from creatures that can recognize a predator in an instant. The sometimes human had slipped his humanity and become his true nature. His escapee duffel bag dropped at his feet. “You’ve been a bad little human, Heero.” The words held such coldness, such contempt.

Heero whimpered as he met the eyes of the dragon, his master. He couldn’t escape, and he felt no mercy emanating from the large creature. His life was officially screwed.
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A/N: Damn, I'm being cruel to Heero and Treize. Evilness abounding next chapter. thanks for my two reviewers, arialee and animegal22, the reviews feed the Muse. Who has declared to try and get chapters out more often. Every couple weeks, I think? I'll try!!! See you next chapter for Heero.. and maybe, a peek at Zechs. *laughs evilly*