Disclaimer: The G-boys and Gundam Wing don’t belong to me.
Warnings: There’s a fight here, so don’t be shocked. Crude language and cruel threats are expected.
FIGHTING THE DARKNESS – PART 16
A whisper of sound was the only warning before a hand slapped over his mouth from behind. “Well, well, my pretty little dove. I heard you were awake. This seemed like the last chance I was going to get to see you again.”
Keeping his body stiff, Trowa made a sound in the back of his throat so he would seem afraid, hearing something that made his heart pound in his chest – not one set of chuckles, as he had expected, but two. Dewitt had brought a friend.
In a split second, Trowa realized Dewitt had no intention of taking Duo out of the hospital and running a chance of being caught. The only question now was how did the security guard plan to kill him? He got his answer seconds later, thanks to the third man in the room, Dewitt’s accomplice.
“What ya gonna do to him, Sharp?”
“Put this in his IV. It’ll make him complacent. He won’t care what happens to him when this gets in his system. Once we’ve had our fun, we’ll add more sedative to the IV bag. That bitch nurse will be blamed for giving him the wrong dosage.”
“You sure it’ll work?”
“I’m sure. I’ve done this before.”
There was a moment of silence as the other man did as Sharp ordered, the IV bag crinkling as it was grasped. Trowa experienced a second of horror when he felt a tug on the wig, hoping it didn’t fall off before he was ready. He needed Dewitt to talk as much as possible.
“What if we get caught, Sharp? I don’ wanna go to prison.”
“We won’t get caught, Nix.” Dewitt was clearly losing his patience with his co-conspirator. “You heard the old bat. No one’s to bother Mr. Maxwell until morning. It has to be tonight. Tomorrow that asshole boyfriend of his will likely have him surrounded by security. Isn’t that right, dove? Everyone was so surprised by your waking; it’s the biggest news in the hospital.”
Feeling bile rise in his throat, Trowa swallowed hard as Duo’s memories of that crooning voice surfaced in his mind. Dewitt felt the convulsive movement and laughed darkly. “You just realized what I have in store for you, didn’t you, dove? Maybe it’ll be better if I let you live. That bastard boyfriend of yours won’t want you when I’m done. Nobody will want you by the time I get finished, except Nix, and his standards are low. As long as a person is breathing, he’ll screw it.”
“Whatever, dude. Can we get this show on the road, Sharp? You promised me some action if I came with you, remember?”
“See, dove? He’s not picky, though in this case I can’t fault his taste.” Nix must have made a move Dewitt didn’t approve of, because he growled, “He’s mine first, Nix. You can make do with his mouth for a while…we have all night.”
Right hand closing on the hilt of a knife under the pillow, Trowa allowed his anger to rise, clenching his eyes shut as the man called Nix came around the bed. The sound of a zipper opening had him jerking back out of reflex, bumping into Dewitt. “You do a good job and I’ll consider letting you live,” Dewitt chortled into his ear. “But I’ll take the rest of your hair to go with what I already have at home.”
Unable to wait any longer, too afraid he would be confronted by his own past, Trowa lashed out when Nix’s cock was exposed, severing it with one swipe as his left hand came out from under the blanket, revealing the gun he held. He kicked Nix away, who was gasping while grasping his mutilated groin. The wig came off in Dewitt’s hand, making him growl with rage.
Staring at Trowa, already on his feet, Dewitt’s eyes burned with cold excitement, ignoring Nix’s whimpers of pain. “What the fuck you doing here?”
Allowing a smile to creep across his face, Trowa moved, deliberately letting the other man see him holster the gun. “Did you think I was spending my time away from here at a hotel? I’ve been searching for the people that hurt Duo half a year ago. I set up everything so you would make your move tonight, Dewitt, or should I call you Sharp?”
“No one’s ever connected those two people, other than Nix here, and I was going to kill him later. Can’t take chances, you know. I’ve got a good gig here; I won’t let you ruin it for me.”
“How do you plan to explain this?” Trowa tilted his head in the direction of Nix, moaning in agony.
Dewitt followed the gesture, shrugging his shoulders, “I’ll think of something. I always do.” Slowly, he pulled a long knife hidden in his belt, behind the long shirt he wore, waving it around. “I was planning on using this on lovely Duo when I was finished with him. You get to see how it feels first.”
Without amusement, Trowa smiled, “Even if you kill me, you’ll never get Duo. He’s long gone from here already.”
“He won’t leave you here. He’s nearby, waiting for you. If I wait long enough, he’ll show up when you don’t come back.”
Trowa’s smile widened, “He might come if he was awake.” Dewitt’s shocked expression had him smirking. “Did I forget to mention he didn’t actually have a miraculous sudden recovery? We made the whole thing up so you would make a move.”
When the other man lunged forward, Trowa decided he should have kept the gun in his hand. He hadn’t counted on Dewitt being fast – too damn fast. If they were in an open area he would have a good chance, but the small space dotted with obstacles made it hard to dodge the blade held with expert precision. Hoping to tire Dewitt out, he focused his attention on trying to stay out of range of the knife rather than try to attack, only slashing when he saw an open spot in the other man’s defenses.
Unfortunately, Dewitt’s blade was longer and double-edged, like Duo’s own knife…the knife Trowa had chosen to leave with Howard. He had cuts up both arms within minutes, and one along his side where he had lifted an arm at the wrong moment. Bargaining for a few more minutes, he shoved the rolling table at Dewitt, then rushed under it and pulled his arms up, slashing the tender flesh of the other man’s thigh.
His pleasure at the hit was short-lived as his feet were abruptly yanked out from under him as he began to stand, causing him to hit the floor hard, landing on his back hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. In his desire to defeat Dewitt, he had let himself forget about Nix, assuming the man would have feinted from pain within seconds. Quickly rolling from Nix and the knife he had raised, Trowa rolled straight into Dewitt’s feet, looking up with resignation when he saw the glittering blade raised into the air above him.
He had always heard your life would flash in front of you before you died, but his didn’t, or possibly, in a way, it did. Every moment he had spent talking to Duo and Howard flew through his brain, helping him see it had been the best days of his life in spite the horrible circumstances. Oddly at peace with the choices he had made, even if they had led to his own death, he waited, knowing if he didn’t make it to the room Duo and Howard were in that the older man would get Duo off the colony as fast as humanly possible. When the blow he expected never came, he frowned at the stunned look on Dewitt’s features as the double-edged knife clattered to the floor, followed seconds later by the man, a blade shoved deep into the back of his neck.
His eyes widened as he saw another figure standing tall for a second before slumping against the end of the bed. Scrambling up from the floor, Trowa barely managed to catch Duo as he collapsed, grunting through his own pain. He wanted to ask questions but there was no time as the door suddenly flew open and the room filled with bewildered staff and security.
Ignoring his bleeding wounds, Trowa carefully lifted Duo and set him on the bed, avoiding the eyes that watched him as he was bombarded with questions.
It was hours before all the commotion died down. Security had called in the sector police, and it had taken Trowa’s authority before they would listen to what had occurred, although the recording Trowa had containing Dewitt’s confession went a long way to easing suspicions and red tape.
Standing in the hallway, Trowa looked into the room as Howard and Duo spoke in soft tones, Ellen busying herself by making certain her patient – honestly awake this time – was comfortable in his new room. After a few minutes of watching the trio, the tall man turned away, body aching.
“You aren’t even going to say hello?” Ellen admonished as she caught up to him in the hallway. “You’re just going to leave?”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Looks that way to me.”
Leaning wearily against a wall, he shook his head at her set expression. “I was going to find a place to lie down for a little while, Ellen. I’m not leaving yet. Damn,” he muttered when he shifted and saw the streak of blood left on the wall.
Frowning, she directed him to a spare room, closing the door behind her. “Take off your shirt so I can take a look at you.”
One look at her face had him doing as she ordered, stripping off the shirt he had managed to put on during the questioning he had been subjected to. Letting out a dejected sigh, he let it fall in a pile on the floor. Seeing the amount of blood on it that would never come off, he grunted, “I liked that shirt.”
“If you had wanted to keep it in good shape you should have shot that son of a bitch to begin with.” His head jerked up at her words, earning him a scowl. “I heard what he did, and the list of crimes he’ll be charged with. Duo wouldn’t have missed if he hadn’t been so weak.”
Trowa had a sneaking suspicion Duo hadn’t missed, but didn’t voice it. It would have taken less than an inch on either side for the stab to kill Dewitt, but the blade had cleanly sliced the man’s vertebra, leaving him completely paralyzed. It wasn’t a mistake anyone with their training could make, no matter how weak.
Hissing as she took a look at the damage done by Dewitt’s blade, Ellen shook her head, “What were you thinking? Why didn’t you use the gun?” she asked as she began to dab at the gash on his side.
“I wasn’t thinking, I guess. I just wanted to hurt him, the way he had hurt Duo. I didn’t think he would be that damn fast. My mistake.”
“One you paid for. Trowa, this is going to need stitches,” he was informed, nodding in response. Tired, he lay down as she went to gather supplies she needed to tend to him, opening his eyes when she returned. As she sewed his skin together, her brow furrowed, “Why don’t you sleep in Duo’s room, like you have been?”
Wincing at the feel of a needle pulling through his skin, he shook his head slightly, “He’s awake.”
“So?”
“Ellen, we really are just friends. There’s nothing between us. There never has been.” And never would be.
“Howard told me how you came halfway across the solar system because you thought Duo needed you. Duo woke up from a coma when he thought you were in danger. Sounds like something to me.”
“I was helping him put his demons to rest. Dewitt was one of those demons. Duo most likely needed to be there himself, that’s all.”
The woman fell silent, competently stitching his side before wrapping it, and his arms, in gauze. Seeing the state of his shirt, she left the room with orders for him to stay where he was, coming back with a large t-shirt bearing the words: Sarcasm, It’s One of My Many Talents. Reading the phrase, he began to laugh, trying to cut off the sound when it took on a hysterical note, but couldn’t.
Wrapping one arm around his shoulder, Ellen offered support until he calmed down. “How long has it been since you ate something?” At his blank expression, she clicked her tongue in disapproval. “We’ll just have to fix you up, then. I’ll be right back.”
At the door she hesitated. Forcing a smile that felt more than a little ragged at the edges, he promised, “I’ll be here when you get back.”
When she returned almost a half-hour later, it was with a burger and fries, a set of soft green scrubs, a blanket, and a pillow. “When you get done eating, take a shower and get some sleep in here. I’ll tell Duo and Howie where you are, and that you’ll come see them when you wake up.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she gave him a stern look. “Don’t you make a liar out of me, Trowa.”
Knowing seeing Duo, speaking to him, was going to be painful didn’t mean he was going to be able to avoid the violet-eyed man forever. He had planned to talk to Duo the next day anyway, needing some time to adjust before facing the man that had become so important in such a short time. “I’ll go see them. I was going to, but I wasn’t entirely sure they would want me around.”
“Foolishness. Howard cares about you like a son, and Duo…is worried about you. The only time he got to see you was before the security guards barged into the room. He was asking if you were okay.”
“When you talk to them, tell them I’m fine. I’m just tired, Ellen. So, so tired.”
Eventually she left him alone in the room. In the shower he simply stood as water rained over him, completely exhausted in body and soul. Donning the scrubs, he practically collapsed on the bed, hoping for sleep so he could escape the emptiness he felt, an emptiness that had been filled without him realizing it while he was in Duo’s presence. Arms curled around his body as if to ward off that void, he huddled under the thin blanket, falling asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.