Sukuu, Chapter 04

Chapter 4

Duo stirred from sleep, disoriented. His head was pounding, and his entire body was enveloped in pain. He barely remembered drifting off after last night’s visit from Trant. Only quietly crying as he wished fervently to die, and for morning to never come. Though something told him it still wasn’t quite morning. Something had woken him.

He tried to sit up, but immediately regretted it as sharp, stabbing pain radiated from his cracked ribs. He fell back against the mattress, gasping, arms instinctively wrapping around his chest. His first thought was that the doctor was crazy if he thought he was fit to see clients today. Then he remembered that he was coming today. His blood turned to ice in his veins. Was that what had woken him? Was he here already? It was not unheard of for the man to come very early, so as not to take away from valuable time that Duo could be spending seeing customers.

Duo tried to quiet the pounding of his heart and listen for movement out in the hallway. Yes, there was definitely movement out there. He swallowed back the lump in his throat. Every breath caused slivers of agony in his ribs. His entire body was tensed. He didn’t want to see him. He didn’t want to see Trant. He didn’t want to see anybody. He wanted to curl into a ball and die.

There were voices now. He couldn’t make out what they were saying, but there were definitely several people out there. Duo frowned in confusion. What the hell was going on? The door handle jiggled. More voices. And then suddenly the door burst open and a number of people poured into the room.

* * * * *

Heero and Wufei moved down the basement hallway, followed closely by Trowa and Quatre. So far the raid on the building had gone very smoothly. There had only been three guards, none of whom had been seriously expecting an attack. The guard on the first floor had been easily taken by surprise. The other two, on the second floor where the rest of the building’s inhabitants lived, were actually asleep. It seemed that their purpose was primarily to protect the residents from aggressive clients during the day. Heero’s lips tightened. Duo certainly didn’t get that courtesy.

They’d found over a dozen young prostitutes living on the second floor, ranging in age from fourteen to eighteen, and both male and female. They were not prisoners, and each had their own private, comfortable room. They were there of their own free will, seeing working in a brothel as a safer and more attractive option to working the streets. There were the guards to protect them, and all the clients were tested for disease. Only Duo was a special case, kept to cater to clients with more violent tastes.

Trant had been asleep in one of the rooms on the second floor. Trant had been decidedly displeased to see them. He had recognized Heero from his earlier visit, and had been quite vocal in his anger. But he was a smarter man than he looked to be, for he had not resisted when they arrested him. Perhaps having several guns pointed in your direction was very convincing. Heero had actually been a little disappointed, which had surprised him. He had never felt such a strong urge to do violence to a person, and Trant resisting arrest would have been an ideal excuse.

Heero had obtained the necessary keys, and then the four of them had headed for the basement, leaving the rest of the Specials to handle things on the second floor. Trant had grudgingly revealed that there were no more guards down there, but they were not inclined to take him at his word. They moved cautiously, guns drawn.

"This is it," Heero informed the others, stopping in front of the cell door. His heart felt heavy with apprehension. He frowned. He wasn’t used to feeling so… distracted on a mission. Normally he felt cool, calm… focused. But now he felt… worried. He was worried about Duo. He was anxious to see him again, to see that he was all right. He’d never felt this way before. He didn’t understand it. And he definitely wasn’t happy about it.

"Is there something wrong?" Wufei asked after several moments had passed without Heero making a move. Heero shook his head, aggravated at having been noticed in his weakness. He unlocked the door.

"Take it easy, he’s going to be scared and confused to see us," Heero instructed, and then fought back a wince. The others exchanged glances. It was unlike him to express concern. He opened the door, spilling light into the darkness inside.

There was a startled gasp from the room’s occupant as they stepped inside. Heero quickly fumbled for the light switch, spilling sickly yellow light into the room. His heart thudded in his chest. Duo was drawn back against the headboard of the bed, his eyes as wide as saucers. Heero stepped forward. Duo shrank back even more.

"We’re not here to hurt you. We’re with the Preventer Special Crime Unit," Heero explained hastily, feeling nervous and awkward. He’d never felt nervous and awkward before. Duo blinked at him, his eyes going to the gun in Heero’s hand. Heero lowered it. He glanced back at the others. They’d quickly checked the room and satisfied that there was no one else they had holstered their guns. Now they were taking in the room more carefully. And were looking decidedly appalled.

Heero turned back to Duo, stepping closer. Duo shrank back, trembling in fear. Heero frowned. He would not have thought it possible, but the boy looked worse than he had before. He’d recently been beaten. Badly. It was apparent in the fresh, dark bruises and contusions that covered his body. His ribs were wrapped. And fresh welts were visible on his chest. It had all happened after he’d visited yesterday. Rage swelled up inside Heero’s chest. If he’d taken him then, if he hadn’t left him here…

Duo had never felt more confused in his life. Who the hell were these guys? What the hell was going on? He blinked a few times at the one who kept moving closer. He looked familiar somehow… And then it dawned on him. It was the strange guy from yesterday.

"H-Heero?" he asked tentatively. The guy hadn’t hurt him, hadn’t even touched him. He felt himself relax ever so slightly. Heero nodded, looking pleased that he remembered him.

"That’s right. We met yesterday," he said. Duo eyed the other three, who were all examining his room with varying looks of disgust on their faces. What was going on? And then something Heero had said clicked in his mind. Preventer Special Crime Unit?

"You’re like… the police or something?" he breathed. No. No, it wasn’t possible. Was it? It was suddenly very hard to breathe. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be…

Heero regarded Duo silently for a moment. He could see the disbelief in the boy’s eyes, the spark of something resembling hope. An unknown emotion constricted his chest.

"Yes. We’re like the police. We’re here to get you out of here. No one is ever going to hurt you again, I promise," he stated firmly, surprising himself with his own vehemence. He meant that promise with every fiber of his being. Duo stared back at him with wide eyes. Heero could see the war of emotions in them. The boy wanted to believe him, he wanted it very much. But it was hard. Hard to believe that six years of captivity were at an end. He turned to the others.

"Quatre," Heero said, "call the Medical Unit down." Quatre nodded, his face pale. He lifted his com unit and spoke into it softly. Wufei and Trowa were also pale. They were staring at Duo in sick fascination. Trowa looked as if he was going to be ill. As if in confirmation of this, he suddenly spun on his heels and left the room. Quatre frowned, quickly finishing his conversation on the com unit, and followed.

Heero looked down at Duo. Without realizing it he had come to stand next to the bed. The boy was shivering, his arms wrapped tightly around his middle. His jaw was clenched, whether with pain or tension or both, Heero didn’t know. His eyes had a faraway look in them, though they continued to look back and forth between Heero and Wufei warily. He didn’t trust the situation. Heero could hardly blame him. He felt that he should do something, offer some kind of comfort, but he had no experience in such things. He felt helpless, something he never felt. He was feeling so many things that he wasn’t using to feeling. It was both confusing and alarming. What did it mean?

"It’s going to be alright," he finally said softly, feeling horribly, terrifyingly inadequate. The boy just stared up at him with those stunning violet eyes.

* * * * *

"Trowa?" Quatre asked softly, stepping out into the hall. He spotted him halfway back towards the stairs, leaning against the wall. Frowning, he went to him, touching him gently on the shoulder. "Is something wrong?" he asked, then could have kicked himself. Of course there was something wrong. He’d just been in that room… that cell, too. He just couldn’t let himself feel it, not right now. His natural sensitivity to feelings and emotions would have killed him, if he’d let the horror of that room wash over him. He wasn’t certain how he was managing to hold it at bay. His mental defenses had never been tested so strongly before. Later… later he would let it hit him. Later, he would probably bawl like a little girl. But not now. He couldn’t let it happen now.

Trowa turned to face him, and Quatre was struck by the look on his partner’s face. He’d never seen Trowa look so… desolate. And pale. He was as white as a sheet. Like he was about to pass out or something. Quatre snapped his jaw shut when he realized it was hanging open in shock.

"My God, Quatre," Trowa said, his voice thin. "It was one thing to hear about it, but… but to actually see it, with my own two eyes. I can’t believe it. I can’t wrap my mind around it. It’s too… too horrible…"

Quatre wrapped his arms around him, and Trowa returned the embrace fiercely. They didn’t usually indulge in displays of affection while on duty, but Quatre thought an exception was definitely in order. He didn’t know why he should feel so surprised that seeing the… situation had shaken Trowa so badly. It’s not as if Trowa didn’t have a heart. He was just so good at hiding it. He never had any trouble separating his emotions from their missions, like Quatre often did. Quatre supposed that the same magnitude of horror that was forcing him to slam down his defenses like he never had before had also succeeded in piercing Trowa’s considerable shell. It was getting to all of them. He’d seen it in Heero’s face, and in Wufei’s, too. He felt Trowa shudder. He pulled back a bit to look up into his lover’s face.

"I understand. It’s horrible. There’s no getting around that. But it’s over. We’re getting him out of here," he said softly. He knew that there really were no words that would make Trowa feel better, but he had to say something. But Trowa nodded softly anyway. Just then two members of the Preventer Medical Unit appeared at the end of the hallway, headed towards them. Trowa pulled back from Quatre, embarrassed, and attempted to revert to his usual stoic expression. He was marginally successful. Quatre pulled away, too, but allowed his hand to linger on Trowa’s arm for a moment in one last gesture of comfort before turning to the other agents. He motioned for them to follow and then led them to the cell.

* * * * *

Heero looked up as Quatre returned, two Medical Agents in tow. The first, Sally Po, eyed the room with disbelief and distaste before settling her gaze on the bed and its occupant. She shook her head, eyes wide. And then quickly got a hold of herself, approaching the bed with her medical bag. Only the tight set of her face betrayed her feelings. Heero made to move away and give her room, but stopped when Duo looked at him in alarm and made a small noise.

"I’m not leaving. I’m right here," Heero said, not sure why his presence should offer the boy any comfort.

Duo relaxed slightly, though he eyed the woman who’d just arrived with distrust. The fear he’d felt at the prospect of Heero leaving him alone with these strangers confused him greatly. He supposed it was because the man was the closest thing he had to a familiar face in this insane situation. It still felt so unreal. Were they really the police? Where they really going to get him… out? Or was this all some cruel dream? He winced as drawing breath pained his ribs. It sure did hurt enough to be real. The woman knelt next to the bed and started pulling medical supplies out of her bag.

"I’m Agent Sally Po, but you can just call me Sally, okay?" she said with a friendly smile. Duo just stared back at her. "You’re Duo, right?" she continued, her voice soft and gentle. Duo managed a small nod. "Great! I’m just going to look you over, and then we’re going to take you in an ambulance to the hospital, where the doctors will take really good care of you. Is that okay?" Duo pressed his lips together. He didn’t like the idea of any doctors looking after him, not if they were anything like the doctor here. He found himself looking to Heero uncertainly. Wufei raised an eyebrow.

"It’s okay. She’s here to help you. I promised that no one was ever going to hurt you again, and I meant it," Heero said. Duo gave a small nod. He was afraid. But Heero had said yesterday that he wouldn’t hurt him, and he hadn’t. Maybe he could believe him. He lay quietly while Sally carefully checked over his wounds, wincing occasionally when she touched something particularly painful. There wasn’t much she had to do, as the doctor had bandaged him up the night before. She didn’t ask him to spread his legs, for which he was immensely grateful. The idea of a woman looking at him down there made him want to blush. He hadn’t blushed in years. He assumed they were leaving that for the hospital. Sally frowned as she examined one of the burns on his chest that wasn’t covered by the tensor bandages wrapped around his ribs.

"The one who… who ‘looked after’ you, he didn’t bandage these?" she asked. Duo shook his head. Her frown deepened. "They really need to be covered. Burns get infected so easily," she muttered darkly. Duo tensed. She was angry. Was she angry with him? Had he done something wrong?

"Um, some of them are covered…" he said hesitantly, indicating his wrapped ribs. Sally blinked at him.

"He… he wrapped tensor bandages over burns?" she asked in disbelief. Duo eyed her warily.

"Yes…" he finally answered. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. Duo felt panic rising. She was even angrier than she’d been before. What should he do? Apologize? Was it even him she was mad at? He didn’t know what to do in this situation! He looked at Heero helplessly.

"Sally…" Heero said. She looked at him questioningly and he nodded in Duo’s direction. She looked back at him and seemed to realize his distress.

"It’s alright, we’ll just have to take care of it at the hospital," she told him reassuringly. She motioned for the other Medical Agent to fetch the stretcher. When it arrived, Heero stepped forward with the other key he’d obtained from Trant. Duo watched in fascination as Heero unlocked the manacle around his ankle.

He blinked. The chain was gone from his ankle. It was gone. He was… free. His heart thudded in his chest, his hand unconsciously going up to cover his mouth. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from it. He felt… shock. He felt… he didn’t know what he felt. It was beyond his comprehension.

Heero leaned down to examine the iron collar and Duo was so engrossed with his manacle-less ankle that he didn’t even notice until he spoke.

"Trant didn’t give me a key for this," he growled, sounding quite displeased.

"He… doesn’t have it," Duo replied softly, hand traveling down from his mouth to the collar. No, Trant had never had that key. He had it. He… Duo swallowed hard. He hadn’t even thought of… of him. Heero was eyeing him, like he wanted to pursue the matter further, but thankfully he did not.

"It doesn’t matter," Heero sighed. "We’ll get it off later." Sally and the other Medical Agent carefully lifted Duo onto the stretcher, then covered him with a blanket and strapped him securely in place. And then they were leaving.

Duo’s heart thudded in his chest. He took one last look around the room that had been his prison for six years, and then they were in the hallway. His fingers gripped the blanket, his knuckles white. He was outside the room! It was… it was terrifying. They filed down the hall and up the stairs, Heero walking beside the stretcher, the other three agents trailing behind Sally, who was pushing it. He was fascinated by everything that he saw, the unfamiliar world that had existed steps from his own, but which for all intents and purposes may as well have been on another planet. And then they reached the door that presumably led outside. Outside…

Duo thought his chest might implode.

"Wait," Heero said, and they all paused. He reached over and plucked the sunglasses from Wufei’s shirt pocket. Wufei gave him a questioning look. "He hasn’t seen the sun in six years," Heero said, looking at him evenly. Wufei paled a little, and nodded in understanding, his lips a thin line. Heero gently placed the sunglasses on Duo’s face.

They opened the door, and wheeled the stretcher outside into the early morning light.