The Mysterious Affair at Victoria (or, the Worms' Mistress)

Part 9


Hardware Engineering Lab - CRF Level 5

Duo felt a surge of adrenalin at the sight of his tall lover, safe and smiling. 
He resisted the urge to jump into the man's arms, but didn't fight at all when 
Zechs pulled him close for a quick embrace and a whispered, "Thank God you're 
safe."
Miranda was kneeling next to Kazu's wheelchair. The two were talking, voices low 
and urgent, so Duo leaned in close to Zechs. "Is this the famous Kazu that I've 
heard so much about?"
Zechs lifted one golden eyebrow. "Why yes - yes it is. And the young lady is, I 
assume, the fair Miranda?"
Duo gave him a thumbs-up and grinned. "I tell ya, blondie - we make a great 
team. So what's the plan now - in terms of getting these two out of here."
Frowning in thought, Zechs stared at the two former employees of Tolv Roos. He 
took a step toward them and they both looked up at him at the same time. "Sorry 
to interrupt," he said, voice low and smooth, "but we really should be going. 
Mister... Kazu? How long ago did Tolv leave?"
The dark-haired man reddened and seemed to be finding it difficult to speak 
again. He dropped his gaze to the floor saying, "K- Kazu... it's just... Kazu... 
and... he was here... about 15 minutes ago."
"D'ya know which direction he was heading when he left?" Duo came forward. Kazu 
looked up again, his eyes running over the small, braided figure, then moving 
between Duo and Zechs, as if trying to determine the link between them. 
"He was... after Miranda. I had sent her up the back stairwell earlier, so I 
told him that she'd gone up the front. He's probably figuring out right about 
now that she's not there..." He looked at Miranda. "You were right, you know... 
he came, and then he left again, without taking me..." His head ducked down as 
he finished the words.
"It doesn't matter, Kaz!" she told him, her voice soft but fierce. "He's not 
worth your time. He's a killer, and he used both of us. Forget about him!"
She looked up, first at Duo, then more closely at Zechs. "So, you're the White 
Knight, huh? I guess you fit the bill pretty well in the looks department but 
how good are you where it really counts?"
Zechs looked at her, rather surprised. "I beg your pardon, Miss?"
She took a step towards the tall blond and put her hands on her hips, a gesture 
Duo was beginning to recognize as an integral part of her personality. "It's not 
'Miss', it's Miranda. I take it *you're* Duo's boyfriend?"
Zechs was so taken aback by her manner that he completely forgot to give Duo an 
annoyed glance. The long-haired boy smothered a growing smile at the blond's 
reaction to the straight forward, pull-no-punches style of the damsel they had 
rescued. It was obviously time he stepped in.
"Miranda, please - you're putting the guy into shock. He's used to Ladies being 
lovely and gracious and Gentlemen being noble and chivalrous." Zechs frowned 
again and slowly moved his gaze from Miranda to Duo. A grin broke out on the 
American's face in spite of his best efforts. "By the way, his name is Zechs and 
he's a *prince*, ya know. Noble knight, slayer of dragons, the whole nine yards. 
Right, Zechs?" he finished, clapping his the blond man on the back.
Zechs and Duo regarded each other for the briefest of moments, then Zechs turned 
to Miranda and said, "I have never in my life been anywhere near a dragon, 
although I have, in my journeys, made the acquaintance of several other kinds of 
reptiles. Now shall we all move to the back staircase and take our leave of this 
place? I believe our time is growing short." With that, he stepped behind Kazu's 
wheelchair and began pushing it to the back of the workspace. As he was wheeled 
out of the lobby, Kazu turned in his seat, his eyes wide, a little smile on his 
face, and mouthed to them the word, "Whoa!"
Miranda stood in awe for a moment, eyes following Zechs' retreating figure, 
before looking over at Duo and murmuring, "You weren't kidding, were you? He 
*is* a fucking prince!"
Duo nodded happily. "Yeah - it took some getting used to, but now? I kinda go 
weak in the knees when he talks like that..."
They followed the two men through the darkened room and Miranda couldn't help 
but add, "Well, heck - I can certainly see why."
***
Back (Eastern) Stairwell / CRF Level 4
The climb would be a long one, and doubling grueling for Zechs and Miranda 
because they were helping to carry Kazu up the stairs in his wheelchair. He had 
told them they should leave it, but when Zechs found out that the chair had 
recorded Kazu's medical data for the past 7 years, and that it was programmed 
with a series of muscle stimulations exercises worked out over the course of 
those years, he insisted it be brought up with them. "How long would it take to 
get all of this reprogrammed? Maybe a good three years - years where your 
muscles would atrophy. No, it's not so heavy that we can't bring it up with us."
So, they four of them climbed, Zechs and Miranda with the chair, Kazu holding 
two floods to light their way, and Duo, with another flood, running ahead every 
few minutes to scout the next level, gun at the ready. They were all greatly 
relieved to find that, even though they were climbing, they were breathing 
easier than they had in some time.
Miranda, walking on the left side of the chair, looked over at Kazu and saw the 
young man's head hanging low, his eyes glazed over with some strong emotion that 
she couldn't quite read. She leaned over and said in a low voice, "It's all 
right, Kaz - we're almost out of here. Once we're safe you can start sorting 
through everything that happened. But right now, let's just get ourselves to the 
surface, okay?"
He fixed her with a deep brown stare and whispered, "But I should have known, 
Miranda. I should have stopped him, somehow. I'm a failure and now all of us are 
in danger because *I* failed."
"Don't go down *that* path," a silky baritone cut in from the right. Both Kazu's 
and Miranda's head turned at the sound of it. 
Kazu looked a little shocked, once again, to find the blond man addressing him. 
The ice-blue eyes were kind, though, as the mesmerizing voice continued. "I've 
spent most of my life with thoughts like that. Every waking hour, and many of 
the sleeping ones, I kept hearing that same little voice telling me how much of 
a failure I was, and just how horrible my fate would be because of it. It's a 
dangerous thing to listen to - it can led a person to extremes." The tall man 
paused a moment and looked thoughtfully at Kazu, making the Japanese man blush 
furiously. "Let the feelings go," he said softly, "before they have a chance to 
poison you." 
Miranda had been so engrossed in what Zechs was saying, and how he was saying 
it, that she didn't noticed herself drifting over towards the side of the 
stairwell as she walked. The next moment, however, found Zechs pushed up against 
the handrailing and a sharp crackling sound coming from his belt. 
"What was that?" hissed Duo, several steps above them and ready to run ahead and 
scout again.
"Oh, nothing much," Zechs muttered. "Just our only means of communication with 
the outside world." He looked down at the small lump of cracked plastic and 
parts that used to be the paging device.
Miranda had just begun stammering out her apologies when Zechs stopped her. "No 
need, Miranda," he said quietly. "To tell you the truth, the stupid thing 
refused to work anyway. As far as I'm concerned it met a timely end."
Miranda smiled back at him, thinking she could see just a flash, perhaps, of 
gleaming white armor over the lean and graceful body.
***
The Map Room - The Victoria Club
"There's someone else trying to gain access to this network. I don't know who it 
is, but it's almost certain he shouldn't be there - or she." Asuka looked up at 
Noin, a look of profound disapproval on her face, almost as if Noin herself was 
the unauthorized user. 
Noin frowned. "Well *that* certainly doesn't make me feel any better." She paced 
the floor, trying to will her paging unit into activating. /Damn where is that 
man! Why hasn't he let me know how they're doing... I swear, Zechs, if you get 
yourself hurt I'm going to be *very* angry at you! And if... well don't even 
*think* about dying down there because then I'll..." She sighed heavily. 
The hotel security team had come and gone. The Admiral's body had been taken 
away and the investigation into his death begun. The local police were not going 
to be there for at least 30 minutes at the last estimate, and the house 
detectives had returned from the back hall of the Club with the news that the 
staircase leading down to the CRF was deserted as was the one floor they could 
access. Two of the security team officers were down there now, awaiting further 
event.
"Damn!" muttered Asuka, huddling closer to her screen, fingers flying furiously 
across the keyboard in front of her. She wasn't forthcoming with the cause of 
the swearing, so Noin didn't bother asking. 
Instead, she opened her paging device yet again and tried to contact Zechs. It 
gave her an error message again, but this one was different from the others 
she'd been getting: "FATAL ERROR: UNIT NO LONGER AVAILABLE." 
A chill went through Noin. /Dear God - what's happened? Something... something 
has happened - something that not only made Zechs' pager inactive, but unable to 
be seen by satellite as well. Something like the device being... destroyed./ She 
imagined a gunshot through it... or a fist... or a fall.
"I have to go!" she said over her shoulder to Asuka. She was holstering her own 
firearm as she moved through the door. The small Preventer rose from her seat 
with a perplexed look.
"Hey, wait! What if someone calls? I'm not supposed to-"
Noin looked back at her in annoyance, trying to stay calm and not quite 
succeeding. She held up the small paging unit. "Their pager's just gone 
completely blank. Something's happened to them down there and I need to find out 
what. So if someone calls... take a goddamned message!"
She ran down the long hallway the led to the back of the Club. There were no 
security officers to be found anywhere. Cursing under her breath, she went 
through Zechs' description of how they had found the entrance, running past the 
Reading Room and the Library to the Nairobi Room at the far end of the hall. 
There was an elegant reception of some sort under way, and the guests were not 
at all pleased to see a young woman in casual dress come charging through the 
doorway and out to the garden. Once there, Noin was forced to wade through about 
75 additional guests, each one seeming to her to be at least six feet tall and 
several feet wide. Having jostled enough shoulders to be bruised for a week, she 
made it the stone wall, only to find a group of soldiers lounging in front of 
it.
"Excuse me, but I need to get at that wall," she said crisply. 
The men looked at her and said nothing - simply stared.
"I said *excuse me*, but I need access to that wall you're standing against!"
One of the men gave her a slow smile and winked to his comrades. "What - this 
wall?" he said, his voice dripping with disrespect. "Keller, this young lady 
says she needs access to this wall." 
The man who responded crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back against 
the sun-warmed stone. "Really? You say she needs to get at *this* wall? Imagine 
that."
A third man walked over to the wall and also leaned against it. "Whadda ya 
suppose she wants to do against this wall," he drawled unpleasantly.
Noin had had enough. It had been a ridiculously long day and it was only getting 
longer. She had put up with the Mr. Cheerful from L2, the clueless ex-officers 
of OZ, a self-centered, womanizing admiral, the death of said admiral, a 
thoroughly cranky Preventer agent, and an ex-lover who had done something brave 
and foolish and had promptly become incommunicado. It was simply too much for a 
woman to take and not react. She pulled her gun from it's leg holster, hidden 
under the graceful sundress, held it at arms length, and cocked it. "I've asked 
you twice, now get away from that wall or lose the family jewels."
The fact that the gun was aimed at their crotches helped her make her point.
The men's faces went white at the sudden threat of castration, which had just 
appeared before their eyes, clad in a garden party dress. "S-she's got a gun... 
*Shit* she's got a gun!" the one named Keller managed to stammer. The men moved 
as a group, fairly running from the barrel of Noin's little semi-automatic. 
Several reception guests gasped audibly as the reason for the mass migration of 
ex-soldiers became apparent. Gloved hands were held fearfully in front of mouths 
or clutched to chests. Within 15 seconds Noin had brought the lively gathering 
to a complete halt. 
Somewhere a subdued voice was heard to murmur, "Does the hostess know?"
Noin moved to the door and went through the steps Zechs had outlined for opening 
the hidden door. As the heavy stone slab moved inward, she turned to face her 
now-rapt audience. "So sorry to interrupt," she said, waving the gun casually, 
causing several well-dressed people nearby to dive for cover. "Just pretend I 
was never here." And with that Lucrezia Noin began her descent to the rooms 
under Lake Victoria.
***
Front (Western) Stairwell / CRF Level 1
"Damn him to hell!" A hand came down hard on the last door in the hallway. This 
was the last place she could have been. He had completely sealed off the access 
to the upper storage and holding area levels. He had searched methodically on 
every level up from the Hardware Lab, but Miranda Centov was nowhere in sight.
As Tolv stood, his palm resting against the cold metal of the door, an image of 
Kazu came to mind. Kazu - beneath him, begging him. Begging for what? Sex, 
definitely. But something else as well... what was that last - then he heard it. 
Heard the voice and saw the handsome face, the agony in those beautiful, 
almond-shaped eyes.
"Forgive me, master... forgive me..."
"He lied to me!" Tolv whispered into the darkness. "The little bastard laid 
there and took it and then *lied* to me..." He spun around, furious, his mind 
working to find a way to regain what Kazu had undone. 
He would have to die. His beautiful little man would have to die and Tolv 
himself was so angry about that horrible truth that he couldn't think straight. 
He breathed in a few times, the oxygen calming his nerves somewhat.
Oxygen? He was breathing fairly freely, not the ragged pained breathing that 
Kazu had shown down in the Lab. /My mask - of course,/ he thought, absently 
lifting his hand to his face and feeling - nothing. No mask. He was breathing 
the air that was inside the corridor. He had been in such a hurry to leave Kazu 
after their coupling that he had completely forgotten to put his oxygen mask 
back on. It was a stunning blow to realize that, even without the mask, he had 
been breathing fairly normally for some time.
/Air? How did this happen? There should be so little air in here that - Someone 
got the air supply working again. Miranda? No - she wasn't' able to access any 
of the computer terminals, I got that much from the readout in the Holding Area. 
Who, then?/ He wracked his brain trying to work it out. And then it came to him, 
in the form of a memory. A memory of Victoria Base Academy, where, as an 
enlisted man, he had done some training with mobile suits. A memory of the first 
time he had seen a certain young cadet with a body that way tall and strong 
beyond his years, and thick white-gold hair, always tucked neatly behind his 
ears, that fell past his shoulders. A cadet who seemed to have completely 
captivated the beloved officer to whom he was so loyal, leaving him jealous - 
.hating the boy. 
Of course. It was obvious. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier, of the threat it 
proposed? It was Merquise, of course. Zechs Merquise, the last darling of the 
Specials, who had graduated from the Academy with stunning scores and an 
academic specialty in computer science. It must have been him... 
Well, he would pay. He would pay dearly for this little betrayal to the cause. 
/And if I have to lose Kazu, perhaps he will lose someone he is fond of./
He had reached the opposite end of the hall, and the door leading up to the 
holding area. Punching in the code, he ran up the steps and, instead of going 
through the door at the top of the landing, he turned left towards a smaller 
door half-hidden under the next staircase. Again he punched a code and the small 
door swung open to reveal a narrow walkway. By crossing it, he traveled from the 
front, western-facing staircase of the facility to the back, eastern-facing 
staircase, at the level of the holding area.
With any luck, he would meet up with Miranda and be able to dispatch her before 
returning to take care of Kazu. After he was assured they wouldn't cause more 
trouble, he would go after Merquise and one of his "friends."
***
Entrance passageway - CRF 
Noin ran lightly down the steps, warding off the cold with her speed and trying 
with mixed results to keep her flood trained on the floor ahead of her. Reaching 
the first, storage level, where Zechs and Duo had left the Professor at work, 
she was met immediately by two security guards from the Club. They had been 
lounging against the near wall until they saw her, at which point they 
straightened and tried their best to look as though the were keeping themselves 
occupied in the line of duty. 
She felt a small wave of contempt. "What are you two doing? Holding the wall up? 
Have you found another way in yet or is this just a social gathering? Look 
lively!" Years of training at this very base could not be erased in so short a 
span as a year or two. The only things missing, she thought wryly, were her 
green OZ training fatigues.
To her great surprise, her words brought a white-haired head around a corner 
several meters in front of her. "Noin!" the Professor beamed at her, then 
beckoned with a withered hand. "Come, come - we're nearly back to civilization, 
young woman! Do come and see!"
He led her into the small computer room he'd been working in and pointed out the 
status of the electrical and other physical plant systems. "I had begun on the 
ventilation system and had gotten the air locks disabled, but, then- the 
strangest thing, really - another user came on (couldn't tell who) and began 
working on the same system! So I switched to the lighting controls and we're 
nearly up, my girl! Just another 10 minutes or so and we'll have light in this 
place again."
He leaned in close to her and whispered, rather conspiratorially, "And a good 
thing, too. These 'security' people are *completely* unqualified for the job. I 
think *I* have more initiative than they do!" Noin couldn't help but smile at 
how involved the Professor had become, and knew, when this nightmare was over, 
that she had to introduce Preventer Asuka Irie to her mysterious unauthorized 
user. She predicted they would get along famously.
"And, as an added bonus," he positively smirked, "I just got the door locks to 
release!"
Noin leaned out of the room and called to the guards. When their sheepish faces 
came around the c corner, she started barking orders. "You, the tall one - take 
the north end of this hallway. One of those doors should lead to a stairwell. 
And you -" she eyed the smaller of the two, "take the southern corridor and do 
the same. Have your weapons drawn and be prepared to encounter an armed suspect. 
Now go!!" With great satisfaction, she watched as the two of them showed the 
first hustle she'd see from them.
"Professor," she asked, "can we get any more specific on where they are? Would 
any of the tracking monitors this place has tell us?"
The elderly man looked first at her and then the computer screen. "Right now," 
he ventured, "the system is set up to recognize the bar codes on badges, but if 
you can give me a second it should be no trouble to get to its controls and set 
it to heat-sensitive mode."
Noin nodded and the gray-haired man went straight to work.
She had wandered out into the corridor near the computer room and was 
contemplating going back to the staircase to radio Security and give them a 
dressing down for not doing enough when the Professor called to her. His voice 
held a hint of panic. 
"Noin!" he said hoarsely as she ran into the tiny room. "We have to stop them! 
They're headed right for each other!"
"Professor - calm down and tell me what's happening," she said, forcing calm 
into her own voice.
He pointed to four fuzzy points on a black grid. They were moving slowly but 
steadily up the screen. Another lone point was on the same vertical line but 
moving down from the top of the screen. The old academic held up three fingers. 
"Zechs, Duo, and Tolv, because of their military involvement all have extensive 
data recorded on them and are what we call "known targets." They can all three 
be identified with heat-trace technology alone. These two," he pointed to two 
points out of the four-point group, "are Zechs and Duo." Noin gave silent thanks 
that Zechs was obviously alive and able to move. "This one," and here the 
professor put a finger next to the lone point, " is Tolv Roos." It appears that 
Zechs and Duo may have Miranda and another person with them, although I don't 
know how that second person could have been down there without any of us knowing 
it." He shook his head. "Not important - what *is* important is that they are 
coming up this staircase and Tolv is coming *down.* The lights aren't on yet so 
they won't be able to see him until they're right on top of him. We have to stop 
this somehow!"
"Where is this stairwell?" she demanded, adrenalin starting to race, making her 
itchy for movement.
"There's a small door near the northern stairwell, it'll lead you to the eastern 
end of the building where that staircase is."
The professor's face had gone pale and his breathing was labored. "Noin, you 
have to go - now! I don't know if you can reach him in time, but you have to 
try. Perhaps coming up on him from behind will give you enough advantage to stop 
him." 
"I'm on it," she murmured. 
She was out of the room in an instant, cursing the fact that more support 
personnel weren't down here. She called back to the professor to radio in a 
message to security, but she didn't have much hope that it would come in time. 
Pushing on the last door in the northern hallway, she found herself in a 
darkened stairwell. A few searching beams of her flood and she had found the 
small access door the professor had mentioned. She was through it and starting 
across the catwalk-like passage in a heartbeat, her breathing ragged more from 
fear than from exertion. /Zechs... oh, dear God, Zechs... heads up, Caro... He's 
coming your way.../
***
Back (Eastern) Stairwell / CRF Level 1
There was no one in the hall on the top level and Tolv was just about to enter 
the stairwell when he noticed the control panel opposite the starirwell door 
begin to flicker and then glow in the dark of the hallway. /Someone on the 
outside is into the network - damn! Damn you to hell, Merquise! You'll pay for 
this.../ He was just about to go through the door when he looked back at the 
panel and had an idea.
He walked up to it, punched in his ID code and then the key sequence for the 
personnel monitoring system. It took only a moment and... there they were. All 
four of them, surely, coming up the stairwell right into his arms... He smiled 
softly and then, on a whim, checked the status of the lighting system. He was 
shocked to see it counting down to reset. Another three minutes and the warm-up 
sequence would be engaged. With the lights flickering, he could gain an 
advantage. With them fully on, that advantage would disappear completely.
/It's the next three minutes or nothing/ he thought grimly to himself, then 
stepped through the door into the stairwell.
***
Back (Eastern) Stairwell / CRF Level 2
"I think we're almost there!" Duo whispered into the darkness behind his back. 
He could hear the others moving steadily behind him and every once in awhile 
directed the flood towards the floor in back of him. It allowed him to see 
enough of Zechs tall figure to know that he was safe, but wasn't enough light to 
blind anyone. 
/We just might be able to do this, Zechs. Get these people to safety and then 
disappear - somewhere no one will ever be able to find us. What I wouldn't give 
for more than just single nights with you. How about *two* nights in a row, you 
and me, bed, a room, locked door.../
The thoughts were so very, very pleasant, he couldn't resist lingering in them 
for just a moment. But he brought himself back to reality quickly. He was in 
scout position, after all - if he messed up, everyone could be in danger.
Playing his flood along the floor in front of him, he saw that he was nearing 
the top of the particular flight of stairs they'd been climbing. He called down 
softly, "Zechs? We're close to the top. I'm gonna take a little run up there to 
see what's around, 'kay?"
"Be careful, Duo," came the low reply.
He began running, his feet hitting the ground with the quiet of a true, 
stealth-trained soldier. He began scanning the landing above with his light, 
beginning with the left had side and trailing it over to the right. As he 
reached the top of the landing his heart gave a leap - the huge lights over the 
stairwell had just begun to flicker wildy. The flicker caused the entire area to 
be bathed in what was, essentially, an intense strobe effect. It temporarily 
blinded Duo, who didn't see the tall figure come around the landing's inner 
wall. The next thing he knew he was being grabbed and turned around, powerful 
arms crushing him backwards against a man's tall, muscular body. A hand was 
immediately clamped over his mouth, the arms tightening like steel bands as he 
fought with everything he had to get free.
"Well, well," a soft tenor voice spoke, close enough to Duo's ear to make him 
shiver. "What have we here, hmm? I do believe you must be Merquise's little toy 
- just as Merquise was Treize's." A cold, round object was jammed against the 
braided boy's temple and Duo froze. "That's right, dear boy, best to stop 
fighting. It won't take long, I promise. We'll just wait for your friends and 
your lover to join us so they can watch you die. That's more polite, don't you 
think?"
With every part of his body Duo wanted to scream downwards, /Zechs!! Stay away!! 
He's here!!/ But he could do and say absolutely nothing. Worse, he could hear 
the sound of their footsteps, his sweet, unknowing friends, and the man he'd 
fallen in love with, coming up the last few steps to certain death.
Storage Level - CRF
The professor watched the physical plant screen as the last part of the reset 
sequence complete itself. Right on cue, the vast banks of lights on the ceilings 
of the facility began to flicker, signaling the beginning of the warm-up phase, 
that would last about 5 minutes. That, at least, was a very good thing. He 
frantically keyed in the location of the heat-sensor grid and felt a wave of 
sickness move over him as it appeared on his monitor screen. Tolv and Duo were 
nearly on top of one another, and the other three were within 5 meters of them. 
Noin was too far behind to have prevented their meeting. He put his head in his 
hands as he sat, waiting for the Club security men to arrive from the world 
above. For the first time that afternoon, he fingered the gun Zechs had left on 
the small table. /If they're not here in three minutes,/ he thought, /I'm going 
down there myself... Noin... Noin, hurry.../
***
Back (Eastern) Stairwell / CRF Level 2
Miranda nearly dropped her side of the wheelchair as the flickering began. Zechs 
dropped back a little and shifted closer to the stair's hand rail to handle the 
extra weight and murmured, "It's all right - this is good. It means the lights 
are coming back on, probably." She smiled over at him in wan relief, just as 
Kazu's voice came through the eerie, strobe-lit darkness.
"S-someone's up there.. with Duo!" he hissed.
Zechs' head snapped up and he saw two figures, silhouetted against the sharp 
strobes of the warming light fixtures. "Duo!" The name was torn from him, 
involuntarily, as he took in the image of Tolv Roos with his hand over Duo's 
mouth and a gun to the boy's head. 
The hand was removed and tightened around Duo's arms as Tolv purred, 
"Milliard... how I was hoping against hope we would meet again. I wouldn't 
advise moving if you want this pretty thing to live." He prodded the barrel of 
the gun into Duo's temple and the American winced."
Zechs wanted desperately to charge the last few stairs a grab his small lover 
from the man, but he was holding Kazu up and he knew Miranda couldn't hold him 
on her own. Letting go at this point would mean a horrible fall down several 
flights of stairs for the young Japanese man. Their balance was so perilous at 
that particular point that he couldn't even reach down for his gun, and now that 
Tolv's attention was focused on him, any slight movement might bring Duo's 
death.
"Let him go, Roos!" Zechs said fiercely. "You won't be able to get out of here 
alive if you hurt anyone else, so just let him go!"
"On the contrary, Milliard. I believe my plan to be a sound one. And I so wanted 
you to be a part of it. I see you have my own little friend with you there."
Kazu's face had gone pale. "Tolv - no, please... not him! He had nothing to do 
with any of this, really. If you want to kill someone, then kill me, but let him 
go..."
"I fully intend to kill you, my dear Kazu. You lied to me, didn't you? While you 
laid back and took it like the good little whore you are - you lied. Well, it 
was all for nothing, little man. You will die, and Merquise's little whore here 
will die and, of course, our fair young Miranda will die as well.
"You bastard!" Duo growled, "How dare you-" The sound of the trigger being 
cocked back silenced him. 
"One more word from you, little slut, and I'll be sure to send Merquise to his 
death as well, in a horribly painful and humiliating way. Now, Milliard - I'm 
going to kill your toy here, but I do think you should know why he's dying - 
that way you can suffer more, yes?"
Miranda's arms were shaking badly from the weight of the chair. They had been 
taking brief breaks at the landings on the way up, but they were past due to 
have one, and she was finding it hard to hold on. Kazu looked over at her, and 
then to Zechs. "Please," he whispered to the blond man, "just let go of me! I'd 
rather go that way than be killed by him, really! Just let go of the chair - 
then at least you'll have a chance to take him out."
Zechs kept a well-trained gaze on Tolv. "There is no way in hell I'm letting you 
fall down five or more flights of stairs-" he murmured to Kazu.
"I'd recommend quiet," Tolv interrupted, "or his death will come sooner." He 
looked briefly at Duo and then Kazu. "This is ultimately all your fault, 
*Captain* Merquise. You were the one who deserted OZ and betrayed His 
Excellency. It was *your* threat that brought him into Space, where he died. So 
*you*, Merquise, are going to suffer most from this. Because of you and your 
interference with this project, I have been unable to avenge his Excellency's 
death. You were once known for putting fairness above all else, Captain. But you 
have prevented justice from being delivered in this instance. And to make 
matters worse, I'm also going to have to kill my sweet plaything there. Now, I 
think it only right that you lose your plaything, too. That's *fair*, isn't it?"
Zechs looked pleadingly at Tolv. When he spoke his voice was hoarse. "Roos - 
please... if you think that way than let him go and take me, for God's sake. 
Please, Roos. I'll do anything you want me to and I'll die in any way you 
dictate, just please, please... let him go."
Miranda, her face a closed mask of pain, buckled under the weight of the chair 
as her arms slipped off of it. It started sliding backwards down the stairs and 
Zechs lunged at it, catching it and Kazu just before they tumbled over to fall. 
Unfortunately this had the effect of pinning Zechs against the handrail, unable 
to move without letting go of Kazu.
"No, Captain..." Tolv's voice was soft and smooth. "You'll suffer a lot more if 
you watch him die first. And that's what this is about now - making *you* 
suffer... I'll have to kill Kazu - and that will be agony for me. So you must go 
through agony, as well. Now - watch closely..."
Duo felt more than heard the tall man's finger pull back the trigger and he 
looked for the last time at Zechs. "I love you," he whispered and saw Kazu look 
at Zechs, then try to pry the blond man's fingers loose from his wheelchair. 
Then, quite suddenly, there was a quiet click from somewhere behind him and a 
familiar voice.
"Let him go now, bastard, or your brains will be all over this stairwell." 
Lucrezia Noin was in a very bad mood.
"My dear lady," Tolv purred, "if you do that, you will no doubt distribute this 
young man's brains along with mine." Having said it, he chuckled. It turned out 
to be a most unfortunate thing to do.
Angry as she'd never been before, Noin grabbed Tolv's wrist, pulling it and the 
gun away from Duo's head, and delivered a tremendous chop with the butt of her 
gun to the a small nerve bundle at the back of the man's houlders. His arms were 
momentarily paralyzed, causing him to loosen his grasp on Duo. The boy fought 
fiercely to get away and had almost gotten free when Tolv recovered and grabbed 
him again, pulling to the left towards the handrail, dragging Duo with him. Noin 
stuck at him again, trying to get him to loosen his grip on the braided boy, and 
he swayed forward, his stomach hitting the rail hard. As Noin watched, Tolv 
tumbled forward over the handrail in a sort of sickening slow motion brought on 
by the strobing lights. His hands still gripped Duo.
The American screamed as he was dragged over the side and Zechs, unable to move 
countered with a scream of his own. "DUO!! NOOOOOO!!!
The only thing that saved the two of them from the 7 story plunge to the floor 
of the facility was the fact that Duo had managed to get one hand around the 
railing as he was pulled over. Now, he dangled above the chasm that was the 
northern stairwell, with Tolv Roos' arms around his neck.
"Let... go.. . of...me..." Duo managed to get out. The arms had tightened and he 
was having trouble getting enough air. His hand was slipping with the extra 
weight from the former OZ soldier. Just as they lost contact with the rail, Noin 
reached out and grabbed Duo's wrist with one hand, aiming the gun at Tolv with 
the other. "Let him go and go to hell you fucking demon!" she yelled. 
Tolv snarled back at her. "I'll just take him down with me to cushion my fall, 
so go ahead and shoot, Lieutenant!" 
Noin withdrew her gun and thought for the briefest of moments and stared down at 
Duo. He looked almost ghostly in the flickering light. His wide-set eyes were 
huge and trusting, staring back at her, as if he knew somehow she would think of 
something. 
/It's the dream... Duo is going to die, unless I do something to get him out of 
harm's way... And that much I know I *can* do for him... and for Zechs./
With an air of infinite calm now, she leaned back over the railing and looked at 
Tolv. "It's *Miss* Noin now, soldier. I'm not fighting anymore." With that she 
dropped the gun, wrapped her other hand around Duo's arm and started pulling 
with all her strength. As she looked down at the boy, Noin saw Tolv's arms begin 
to shake violently, the aftermath, no dount, of the nerve bundle being stunned. 
Suddenly and with no warning at all, Tolv arms slipped from around Duo's neck. 
Noin believed she would always remember the absolutely stunned expression on his 
face as he fell into the light-pulsing blackness of the 7-story stairwell.
"TOLLLLLLLLLLLV!!!!!" Kazu grabbed the railing and pulled himself out of his 
chair. The chair itself slid backwards and tumbled end over end down the 
stairwell for several flights. The Japanese man was just starting to pull 
himself over the railing towards the place Tolv had fallen when Zechs' arms came 
up around him, tight and strong. 
"I didn't save your life to have you do this!" he hissed in Kazu's ear, as he 
stared over the handrail at Duo, still dangling in mid-air. His hand still 
gripped Noin's, which were shaking with the effort.
"Hold... on...Duo!" she managed to say though teeth clenched with the effort of 
holding on to the boy. 
Duo looked at her, his expression soft and sad. He grinned lopsidedly anyway and 
said, "Sorry to spoil your rescue - but I... I can't... keep this up... 
anymore." They regarded each other for a brief moment, then Duo whispered, "I 
think he loves you."
Noin's eyes went wide. Imposed on Duo's face was the scene from the street in 
her dream. The black car, she understood what it meant now, was just about to 
reach Duo, and the easiest thing to do was, as she did in the dream, move aside 
and let it hit him... But no - she wasn't going to let him die a second time. 
She wasn't going to live with Treize haunting her for Zechs' sake. And she 
absolutely refused to try to get Zechs back by letting this maddening boy fall 
to his death. Taking a deep breath, she pulled one last time with everything she 
had.
But Duo's strength had met its limit, and his fingers began their sliding off of 
hers. "Duo, NO!!!!" she screamed as the contact between began to break. Just at 
that second, she saw a strong hand reach down several inches farther than she 
could, and grasp Duo's arm, sharing the weight with her, taking part of the 
responsibility for the boy's life - helping her give him another chance. She 
looked up to find Zechs standing just to her right, his face intently focused, 
staring down at his lover. She looked back to see the young man in the 
wheelchair Zechs had been struggling with, now sitting on the landing just 
behind her, with a woman by his side. /When was he able to do that?/
"On my count," Zechs said quietly. "One, two, three!" They both pulled as hard 
as they could and slowly brought the American up to the railing and back over. 
Duo sank to his knees as they set him down on the steps. Zechs was kneeling 
beside him instantly, completely enveloping the boy with a powerful embrace. Duo 
arms were too weak to return the embrace, but he breathed heavily against Zechs' 
neck, then burrowed his face into the man's shirt. "Bunny," he whispered. "Oh, 
Bunny..."
Overcome with relief, Miranda blinked tears away and hugged Kazu tightly. "It's 
gonna be okay!" she said to him. "It really will be okay!"
"Yeah! Yeah... well... sort of," Kazu replied, trying to smile at her, his own 
face damp and tear-streaked. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the pair 
embracing by the railing. 
He leaned his head over on Miranda's chest and began crying softly. "I loved 
him, you know. Tolv. I really did love him, even though he was so bad..." 
"I know you did, Kaz. I know..."
***
Zechs' and Duo's Rooms - The Lodge at Victoria
It had been several hours since they had heard the sound of help echoing down 
the stairwell towards them. The local police had finally gotten free from the 
trap that their HQ had become. The two remaining Preventers, both men, were with 
them, and were charged with going down to recover Tolv Roos' body. Asuka had 
overridden Tolv's lock on the elevators, so the rest of the journey to the 
surface was fairly uneventful.
They picked up the professor on the way up. The old man was fairly leaping for 
joy at the sight of them. He threw slightly withered arms around Zechs, then 
Noin, then Duo, then back to Zechs again. "Thank God!," he was heard to mutter. 
"Just... thank God!"
Now, everyone was trying to repair themselves. Noin had talked to the 
representatives of Club security and the police, as well the two Preventer 
agents. She had a lot to say to them about how their organizations were able to 
deal with the crisis, and she was determined that none of them would leave until 
they heard her out. "This will be very, very cathartic for me," she had told 
Zechs as she walked into the Map Room with them. "And then I'm going back to my 
rooms, taking the hottest bath I can stand, and sleep for several hours. I 
expect you and Duo for dinner at 8pm and," here she eyed Zechs with a rather 
fierce expression, "I will *not* take no for an answer." She headed through the 
door to the room and turned one last time. "Nor will I tolerate lateness, so 
make your 'plans' accordingly." In her wake, Zechs could only blink at the 
heavy, wooden door. 
"Yes, Miss Noin," he murmured, then smiled.
Kazu and Miranda had given statements to the police. Miranda had handed over the 
Worm's source code to Asuka Irie of the Preventers, who was, even now, analyzing 
it's structure. The two of them were were provided with a room in which to rest; 
actually the lodge had offered two rooms, but Miranda had insisted on one. They 
were now taking a much needed nap.
Duo had been taken to the Club's infirmary, where a doctor had given him 
cortisone shots in his elbow and shoulder and wrapped his aching right arm. He 
was given an injection of a painkiller, and was now a bit lightheaded and could 
be found on the bed in his rooms, braid undone, rolling around and giggling over 
nothing. Zechs stood at the window, hands in his pockets, staring out at the 
savanna, currently being drenched by rain.
"C'mon Bunny! Get over here and make the room stop spinning for me, kay?" More 
giggles. Zechs turned from the window, and looked at his young lover. Duo was 
laying on his back diagonally across the large bed with his head hanging over 
the side, long silky hair spilling into a heap on the floor. He was looking at 
Zechs upside-down and blinking wide, violet eyes. Lifting his good arm up, he 
held up a slender forefinger and beckoned to Zechs with it.
That was simply too much for the blond to resist. He walked slowly over to where 
Duo lay, careful not to step on the lovely pile of chestnut gold, and tilted his 
head, regarding Duo with a slightly bemused expression.
"Do you happen to realize how utterly silly you look, kitten?"
Duo tried to put on a face of profound insult, only to break into a new fit of 
giggles. 
Zechs sighed and bent down, sweeping up the mass of silky hair with his hands 
and laying it on the bed. Then he knelt down and kissed Duo's lips lightly. The 
long-haired American gave a heavy sigh and rolled over onto his stomach, looking 
up at Zechs intensely. "So, blondie," he grinned, "are you gonna act like a 
Prince - or a lusty, boy-ravishing scoundrel? Hmmm?" He punctuated this by 
wiggling his eyebrows up and down a few times.
Zechs regarded the adorable face, shimmering eyes, and soft, yielding mouth. He 
took in the sight of long, loose hair, slender but powerful muscles, and the way 
Duo was wriggling against the bed.
He let out a ragged sigh and whispered, "Well I'm not a prince anymore, kitten - 
so that must mean..."
The rest of his sentence was covered over by Duo's warm, eager mouth.
*** 
Noin was soaking in the large, white bathtub her suite afforded. She had 
sprinkled lavender bath salts into the water and was drinking in the heady aroma 
coming to her through the steam. She could feel several tired and tense muscles 
starting to relax and wished only that her mind could do the same.
/Zechs... I really wish you were here right now... to talk everything over, like 
we always did in the past... Trouble is I know where you are... and what you're 
probably doing... Damn! Why do I keep seeing that boy's face... hanging above 
that chasm, saying those words, "I think he loves you." He thought they'd be the 
last words he'd ever say, and we came too damn close to that being true... But - 
why did he say that? He didn't have to... didn't have to leave me with that... 
could have just as easily told me that Zechs despised me./ She stared at the 
ceiling of the bathroom.
/Or maybe he couldn't... /
Suddenly, she remembered him the year before, on the ship, as they prepared to 
face Mariemeia's troops. An impish face, a wide, disarming grin, and the words, 
"He runs, he hides, but he never lies! Duo Maxwell!" She hadn't taken the little 
motto seriously, but now she felt she'd been wrong not to do so. And she also 
felt that, now that she knew why he gave her those words, meant as his last 
gesture on Earth, she could recognize that one good thing, at least, had come 
out of the horrible events in that stairwell: it was now her fervent belief that 
Mr. Duo Maxwell was a rare and honorable individual, indeed.
***
Miranda woke to the sound of thunder and the smell of rain-drenched grass. The 
skies had opened up over Lake Victoria and the entire guest register of the 
Victoria Club was no doubt huddled within it's comfortable sitting rooms and 
bars, enjoying the many striking hearths available, and taking advantage of the 
forced rest as a chance to catch up on gossip with old friends and enemies. 
/This is quite a place/ she thought as she lay against the fluffy pillows. I 
suppose Duo and Zechs must be used to accommodations like this.../ Then she 
smiled and made a face to herself. /No, not Duo, surely! I can't see him being 
approved of by the staff or the patrons - and Zechs... well Zechs clearly 
wouldn't accept any place that wouldn't accept Duo. I wonder where they'll be 
going...?
The door of the room opened slightly, and she called out, "Kaz? Is that you?" 
His dark head peered around the door at her. "I... I didn't know if you were... 
decent." She could see a blush from across the room.
She laughed loudly. (God it had been a long time since she'd done that!) 
"Decent?" she retorted. "Kazu what century were you born in for heaven's sakes?" 
Having just made fun of him, she felt it necessary to wave him further into the 
room. He came in, expertly maneuvering the chair so that he was next to the bed, 
facing her. 
/He's so adorable. And putting on such a brave face given what's happened 
today... / He had told her a little of what had gone on between he and Tolv 
earlier in the day. There was likely to be much, much more he hadn't told her 
and that would have to be all right. She wanted to give Kazu lots of things, but 
above all, she wanted to give him time.
"How are you doing, sweetie?" she asked.
He tried to smile. "Oh, I'm okay... well, actually I'm horrible, but..." She 
reached out her hand and held his tightly.
"Wanna change the subject?" she said. He nodded.
She gave a wry smile and ventured, "So - where are you gonna be off to after 
this, partner? Given, of course, that Mr. Prince is likely to be occupied 
indefinitely."
He looked startled for a moment, then blushed furiously. "Well, I... that is, 
I..." he stared at one corner of the ceiling, not able to meet her eye. "Now I 
feel really stupid..."
"Why?" she asked, her brows knitting. Whatever had she done in just these few 
minutes?
"I... I thought..." he stammered again and then hung his head and put slender 
hands up to his cheeks. "I thought you might want to go somewhere together, but 
I was obviously wrong. I know you wouldn't want to go somewhere with me, and I'm 
sorry I was so presumptuous, I didn't mean to be-"
His torrent of apologies was stilled by a calloused finger on his lips. Miranda 
regarded him, a look of long-suffering patience on her face. The she leaned 
over, moved her finger, and kissed him softly. "Tell me, Kaz," she said after 
breaking the kiss, "I know how you feel about men, but how do you feel about 
women?"
He held her gaze with an open mouth, cheeks reddening again. "I... don't 
honestly know, Miranda. I've never been with one I liked... before now."
She grinned at him and brushed blue-black hair out of his eyes. "I think a 
vacation together would be a great idea. Let's talk about where we'll go over 
dinner."
They both smiled then, and breathed in the scent of rain-washed air.
***
The Kigali Dining Room - The Victoria Club
The place settings were lavish, the table linen snowy white, and candles glowed 
all around them as Noin, dressed in deep purple silk, ushered Zechs and Duo to 
one of the Clubs secluded tables. A serious-looking young man in white shirt and 
black trousers slid up without their noticing him and deposited wine and glasses 
on the table. 
"Thank you, Noin, for asking us to be your guests. This is beautiful, really." 
Zechs smiled softly at his old friend. 
He was looking particularly good tonight, Noin thought, with a loose white linen 
shirt and impeccably pressed dark blue trousers. He had forgone the jacket that 
she knew went with the ensemble, and his hair, gleaming almost silver in the 
candle light, spilled down the back of his shirt while at the same time staying 
neatly tucked behind his ears. She had always marveled at how he managed that.
His partner in crime, the slightly giddy Duo, was equally lovely in his tight 
black pants, black turtleneck, and deep red vest.
She filled their glasses and held hers up towards them. Here's to you two," she 
said, giving them a small smile.
"Whatever have we done the deserve a toast?" Zechs murmured into his champagne.
"You've solved the Victoria Club mystery. That, in and of itself, is enough to 
toast to."
"Don't count yourself out of that, Noin," Duo said. "If it wasn't for you, I 
wouldn't be alive right now!" He winked at her and lifted his glass in a tiny 
salute.
She paled a bit at his words, the dream still very nearby, but she smiled back 
at him. Her eyes drifted to Zechs as she said softly, "I would never stand by 
and let you die, Duo. You're far to important to have that happen." Zechs' face 
was all softness and gratitude.
Duo grinned and looked up at Zechs as Noin moved to the small serving table left 
by the waiter. "Please sit down," she called over her shoulder, "I'll bring over 
some appetizers."
Once they were seated, Duo pulled Zechs in close and whispered, "Hey, bunny! I 
think she's starting to like me a little!"
Zechs kept his eyes on the menu as he replied softly, "Of course, kitten. Noin 
is a highly intelligent woman, and one who simply cannot hold grudges against 
innocent people." He sipped from his wineglass as Duo eyed Noin. 
"You know, Zechs, I wonder if she'd like to take a trip with sometime - you 
know, go on vacation or something, the three of us."
Zechs put his wineglass down with great care, closed his menu and turned to look 
at Duo. In his calmest voice he murmured, "Don't push your luck, kitten - don't 
push your luck."
"Here you are," Noin said as she put down two plates full of dainty h'ors 
doeuvres. "Enjoy them."
Duo looked up at her and blinked. "But, Noin - there's only two plates... 
where's yours?"
"Back at my table with Miranda and Kazu. I reserved this spot for you two, so 
you could enjoy some time together. I'll talk to you tomorrow before I leave. 
Have a wonderful evening." With that, she walked gracefully away into the main 
dining room.
Zechs and Duo stared after her for a moment and then Duo looked up at Zechs. "I 
think I'm beginning to see why you like her so much."
 




 

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