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"The Heist "Written By: Kaeru Shisho Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Gundam Wing
or its characters, nor do I make any monetary profit off this story. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, male/male pairings, language Pairings: 1x2x1 Summary: Duo's planning a robbery, considering a reality TV show, and falling for the man who can lock him up for good. Can his friends help him? Can he help himself? A/N: This story takes place in a universe more
like ours today, where the colonies exist on land, not in space, and
where the world is on the cusp of change. Thanks goes to Waterlily
for her tireless editing and thoughtful suggestions throughout. "The Heist " Chapter 14 - Misdirection The cameras were intrusive in ways Duo hadn't suspected. In the studio, they'd been kept out of the way, on the periphery of his vision. He'd been engaged in conversations, looking into faces of strangers and Hilde- and he'd been talking. Stuff he was good at and could do in his sleep, and often did. Hundreds of feet in the air, on the rain-slicked roof, in the mist, no, downpour, as he hooked the guy-wires to his harness, the cameras were not disappearing. He wondered why he'd gone along with this part of the plan. Trowa was the extractor guy. He belonged up here. Of course, he couldn't be up here on TV-he wouldn't have allowed that!-and unloading the treasury at the same time. As he stretched to reach a cable line overhead, his foot slipped on the wet surface and Duo felt himself slide to his death. He scrabbled desperately for a finger hold onto the roof plates; his feet flailing for something to connect with. But first, one of his attached lines went taut, held fast as it was intended to do, and stopped his glide to oblivion. He wanted to scream in terror, but then thought, "How would that look on TV?" Besides, once he was sure the cables were holding, all he had to do was pull himself back up to the top, connect the rest of the lines, and get down to business. He grinned into the camera, while checking on the proximity of the overhead microphone, and figured he was ready for his close up. "Just testing," he said. He imagined how that would look to the viewers- Rocking Good - and began hauling his ass back up the roof. Safe again, he double-checked that he'd shut down the security system. All systems go. It wasn't easy for Duo to get through the glassless roof window. He had to trust the trusses, which now looked impossibly thin, to carry his weight. He couldn't count on the metal window frame for any support. To the harness he was wearing, Duo snapped on the secondary and tertiary wires, which stabilized him and provided back up to the lead wire. One more detail to go... He ripped off a length of duct tape with his teeth and secured the umbrella to the peak of the metal framework he and Trowa had erected over the open skylight. Dry could only help. Now, it was time to boogie. Trowa had trained him. He'd practiced and executed moves like this before for other aerial-approach robberies. Duo could do this, but he didn't like it. He firmly gripped the overhead pole with both hands and sprang off the roof, vaulting up and over the pole in a simple rotation, pressing his stomach to the metal pole. When his legs straightened, he was hanging by his hands and the wires down into the opening, feet first. He forced a grimace into a smile and winked into the camera. "Here I go." He said a silent prayer and let go. The wires held. He didn't swing; he hung like a spider, but felt more like the captured, bundled prey of one. Ever so slowly, he enabled the motor that let out the main line, and down he went. Despite the drizzle, compared to where he was now it had been bright outside, and the further away he dropped from the roof, the murkier it became. Below, his destination was reduced to a pinpoint. He let out the line at a uniform speed, and even though it felt as if it was taking forever to make the descent, the next time he looked down his target was only twenty feet away. The crown jewels, or the facsimile thereof, arranged on their stands, awash in dim, golden lights seemed to beckon him nearer. Mesmerizing, he thought. (o) Hilde walked the hall to the service elevator, costumed as part of the custodial staff. There was a TV employee fiddling with a surveillance camera. "What are you doing?" she asked. She figured Duo had already cut security, but she didn't understand what he did or how he did it so that the camera still seemed to be working. "Replacing these with our cameras. We have better lenses, but they have position." "Palace security okayed that?" she doubted they'd been informed. Duo didn't know about this. These would be camera's recording their actions, hers included, and would be actionable. She didn't trust "legal"; in fact, the people she trusted she could count on the fingers of the three-toed sloth-Howard, Duo, and herself. The man laughed, which was answer enough. "How many are you, ah, upgrading?" She smiled charmingly. "I want to look my best, you know?" He told her. Now, what to do with that information? Duo was busy with Trowa still or on the roof already-in any case, he was in no position to fuss with cameras. She needed to get in the underground passage pronto and didn't know where the others were, but could guess. She gave herself ten minutes to locate Quatre or Wufei, either would do, and ran into palace security instead. "Oh!" Killer blue eyes bore into hers. "What are you doing? Who are you?" "I-I'm a production assistant with the AOK Broadcasting Company." She turned up her charm a notch. "Wow, you ever think about getting into pictures? I'll bet when you smile girls turn to jelly." Wrong choice. His frown deepened, and she didn't think he needed angled lighting to make him appear any more dangerous. "And guys, too!" she added in as perky a fashion as she could muster. She was an actress, after all. That turned out to be another wrong choice. His hand moved to rest on what she guessed was a hidden sidearm. He growled. "Identify yourself." "Hilde Schbeiker. You can clear me with Duo Maxwell." She prayed silently. His intense glare bore down on her, but she stood her ground. "You know who he is, surely." She hoped the guard did. "Yes, I do." He tapped at an ear receiver/microphone, activating it. "Yeah," she said. "He's a bud of mine." "You delivered food to his apartment." "Hey, that's right; that was me. Say, I'm kinda busy right now." Heero signaled her to shut up as he appeared to listen intently. "Duo?" (o) Softened by black velvet surfaces, the glittering crowns, gold encrusted scepters, and dazzling gems stones looked like the real deal. While considering which item to begin with, Duo unzipped his backpack, and almost hit a camera, dangling from a cable near his head. He'd completely put the filming out of his mind for a moment, but that had distracted him, and being caught off guard almost fried his patience. He was, in fact, sorely tempted to send it flying across the room. And then his cell phone buzzed. "For Christ's sake!" Who would be calling him now? It could only mean something had gone wrong. "Damn!" He did manage to locate and pull it out. When he saw the ID, he took Heero's call, even though he was hanging in space and being televised. "Whatssup?" "I have secured an intruder who claims you know her. Hilde-" "Hey, I can't hear you very well." "Hold on." Heero cut him off. Duo didn't figure he had much choice but to hold on. (o) "Hold on." Heero pulled out his cell and used that without the earpiece. "Where are you to get poor reception?" "Um... hanging around? So, who're calling about?" Hilde was startled to hear Duo's voice, Heero talking to Duo. "Hilde ... She-beck-er?" "Hilde? Yeah, she's with the circus and working with the TV guys. Problem?" "I will determine that. She's dressed like one of the cleaning staff." Duo's voice was muffled for a second, "I can't tell you why... maybe her clothes got dirty and someone gave her those to wear? I don't know everything, but she's an old friend of mine-" "She brings you food from the restaurant." "Yeah, you remember? Well, she's been helping out the circus and I know she's involved with the filming." Hilde waved her arms and jumped up and down. "Tell him there's new TV camera's being installed where security cameras were!" The guard looked surprised at this news. Duo shouted, "TV liaison! TV-circus-Hilde-me- see how that works? Treat her nice, 'Ro!" Row? Hilde rolled that name over a bit. Could this "Row" be the Heero Duo had mentioned? Duo's hero? Hubba, hubba! Lucky Duo. "Understood, Duo. Over." "Um, I guess no one from the studio got permission to do this?" she asked sweetly. "No. You belong outside." Remembering what she'd overheard Duo say, she made up a cover story. "I know, but I fell in mud and then I got these clothes and then I need to use the ladies room, and then I saw one of the TV guys where I hadn't expected him-" "Show me where the cameras have been changed out." "Down this hallway," she showed him, pointing one way. "Two cameras were to be used, one high and one low, for panning forward." "The circus is not performing inside." Gears clicked. Obviously, the movie work was all being done outside and Duo was keeping "Row" out of the plan. "Yeah, I apologize. They wanted some inside shots. I told the guy to stop and he's gone." The handsome guard with the serious stare was already disabling the cameras. "Are there more?" "One, around the corner and that's it." "Security has been shut off," the young man muttered. Not to Hilde but into his hidden mouthpiece. "Get on that," he ordered someone, somewhere. Hilde wished she could warn Duo and hoped that however he had cut the security, that he had done some damage while he was at it. She'd need all the time she could get in order to get word to him. Her cell buzzed and she snagged a moment to peek at it. "Boxes in place :)" Well, how sweet! That meant she had to get to the tunnel straightaway and not bother searching for them. Thank you... Quatre, I'll bet, she thought, guessing he'd be the most thoughtful. "So, um, the ladies room?" Hilde danced a bit to demonstrate her urgent need. "By the door. Wait-" She didn't wait. While he was teetering on a table hands full of camera equipment, she dashed away. "Thanks!" She wasn't about to get stuck babysitting "Row" any longer or wait for the security system to cut back in, which meant that she didn't wait around for the elevator. From the map, she'd seen the stairwell wouldn't go to the basement, but if she went up a floor she could catch the elevator down and, hopefully, avoid the blue-eyed menace. "Wouldn't you know Duo'd go for a cop!" Hilde's evasiveness worked out. She quickly located the passageway's entry door- unlocked!-which meant that the security system was still offline. "Breathe. You did good, dear," she congratulated herself. Without wasting a moment more, she entered the underground tunnel, which ran from the palace to the treasury building. She nearly tripped over the two empty hatboxes stacked one on top of the other. "Jesus, they're big!" And heavy. "Duo, you really planned this perfect!" "How's my time? Ten minutes! I'll have to hurry." Actually she was doing great. She'd padded her schedule well. All she had left to do was travel out of the palace, cross under the city streets, and find the spot where she was to lie in wait for a signal from Zechs. The tunnel was pitch black. "Glad I brought this," she pulled out a tiny bright flashlight, "and got one small enough that Mr. Suspicious didn't notice it!" She smiled to think of breaking down under his questioning. "Anything, Row, anything you want!" Well, a girl could dream. So dream she did, but this time she saw the face of that other actor, the one named Gregory, who had slugged Duo in the mouth. Something real had been behind that punch. She felt it. Imagine if she and Gregory had actually discovered true love in an artificial setting like that? Why, that was like magic?! Was that how it worked for movie stars? Inject some of your own personality into the character, and voila!? All it took was Duo insulting her brilliant new idea, and Wow! Powee! Yeah, maybe she'd look him up later, in a week or so? When she flashed her light around, it exposed rough walls hewn from solid rock. And a darker something in front of her. She took it slow, stopping to shine light upon cracks and hunks of cement and plaster which had crumbled off the walls, making the floor uneven and treacherous. "They haven't cleaned up here since the bombing of the first war," Hilde remarked. "ACK!" A crevasse yawned at her feet. It didn't take up the entire floor, but the path to go around it was narrow. She looked at the space, thinking. Then she walked over to the irregular wall and banged on it to check for loose rock. It was solid. "Great. Get rid of these..." With an effort, she hurled both boxes across the opening, hearing them bounce hard when they struck the other side. "Now for me." Fussing about in the dark, she stuffed the flashlight in a pocket and climbed the wall, finding toe and finger holds in the tiniest crevices and crannies, moving steadily, angling over to the right as she went, and passing the gaping hole. She only had to climb about ten feet, which didn't give her much room to show her skill, but it was apparent she had some. The floor spread out looking solid again and she dropped. Wiping the grit from her hands was necessary before she could grip the light, collect the hatboxes, and trot on. "I'm gonna bill'em for that. Neither wall climbing nor stunt work were in the contract." She saw a light flash in the distance and wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her in the dark, but stepped up her pace just in case it was her contact on the other end. "Light at the end of the tunnel- at last. I hope it's a good omen." (o) Milliardo parked his Miata in the private underground parking space provided to him by the Sanc treasury. He recognized the other vehicles as those belonging to his old White Fang comrades from the war. While the party had been in full swing, his loyal team had moved in. So when the treasury building's day-shift security enjoyed a day off, Milliardo's White Fang loyalists took over their posts. "Everything still running smoothly?" he asked the team leader. "Building secured and ready for further instructions, sir." "I have two more items to collect, but don't let that stop you from opening the vault. I'll supply the codes now." "Yes, sir. We have reinforced dollies for moving the contents, as you specified." "And we shall need them. The bouillon is heavy and will take us time to transport. I just heard from Barton. The train is moving into position." "And the smaller items? You want those bagged separately, correct, sir?" "Yes, they are in blue velvet bags, all of them; I checked the records. And you have the backpack?" "Yes, sir. Sewn to the exact measurements you indicated." Milliardo signed off and concentrated on his own task. He supplied entrance codes to the secured basement doors and entered the treasury building, heading directly for the underground tunnel connection to the palace. He discovered a junction box at the tunnel access. "So there are lights." He flipped on switches. "Now, we'll see how many are operable." Studying the security records of the past three years, he had deduced that the tunnel had not been in use, and since he believed in being properly prepared, he'd brought a pair of flashlights. Dim illumination for the first few hundred yards let him see well enough to dash at full speed, but after that he noticed that every other bulb was out and the ceiling dropped. He cut his progress bent double and still bumped his head as the tunnel lowered and the gloom deepened. From that point on, he slunk along holding a flashlight, gritting his teeth against hollering out Hilde's name. He did hope she'd earned Duo's trust by being punctual. Finally, he stopped and remained crouched, staring into the darkness. After less than a minute has decided to sit and stretch out his legs, and there he waited, occasionally flashing his light into the distance in hopes that Hilde would spot him and move faster. He'd preferred working with Wufei, getting the art into the crates, and was sorry to have to leave him before everything was fully loaded. After he ran through all the work left for Wufei, and hoped he had enough help from his employees, Mill began to wonder if the crates wouldn't be suspiciously heavy once the jewels were concealed inside. "Don't worry about what you have no control over!" he chastised himself. The jewels. He might as well burden his mind over them. He completely trusted his men to empty the vaults and properly stow the crown jewels. Complete faith in them. What he wasn't sure about was the Hilde woman doing her part. Once the White Fang men extracted the crown jewels from the treasury, Mill would transfer them to her so she could take them to Wufei. "Damn that Maxwell!" He hoped Duo Maxwell had a backup plan if the Hilde girl didn't come through at that end. He didn't think he'd fit in the tunnel if he had to go it alone. And Wufei would have a fit if he sent one of the White Fang men to meet him. That would be tempting fate, wouldn't it? No, he'd be better off dislocating a shoulder to pass through the tunnel, if it came to that, than to send one of his men. No, it definitely would not be worth the anxiety that would cause his highly strung lover. There was another way. If she didn't show up here, he could entrust the Barton clown with the crown jewels and the wealth of the kingdom-he chuckled to think he was doing that on the word of a thief! He flashed his light down the tunnel again, thinking "come on." Maybe it was real or maybe it was just based on the strength of his willpower, but this time he thought he saw a flicker in response. He heard a scrabbling sound coming his way and automatically placed a hand under his jacket to unsnap the holster holding his gun in place. "Christ! This is one hell ova fucking tunnel! Here, take these!" A young woman shoved two hat boxes at him. "And-!" He brushed back his tousled, white bangs and looked up into her face and smiled. "Holy Shittola! You're a-a," she pressed her hands over her mouth and whispered, "you could be a stand-in for the prince." "You think so? I've been told there's a resemblance," he said, amused by her absolute shock. "Oh there is! You could do a 'Prince and the Pauper' trade or make that movie! I can't believe Duo didn't warn me. Oh, I will so get him for this." "Later, perhaps? For now, follow me. The... items... you will be taking to Mr. Chang should be ready." "Yeah. No rush. I can use a rest and a drink-water'll do. That tunnel needs a lotta repair, I can tell you. Hey, lights! I didn't think to look for switch back at the other end." "Don't worry. They don't operate far in from this end; they are just as likely to be insufficient at the other." When the pair emerged from the tunnel and fifteen minutes later, the transfer of the crowns-for-jewels was complete. Mill had the two royal crowns fit for a king and queen loaded into the boxes Hilde had brought with her. He'd never worn the King's crown and now, never would. Thank God. He imagined Winner had the lesser "Prince and Princess" pair packed up and on their way already, or soon to go to L4 with Relena. Where they would all be safe, he hoped. Hilde finished adjusting the straps to the fully loaded, and very heavy backpack at the entrance to the tunnel. "What's in here, the whole treasury?" "Not quite, but treasure the contents as if it were," Mill warned her. "Here's a bottled water, and these two boxes to carry. Will you be all right? Can you handle them all?" "Yeah, yeah. It's not far and nothing will break if I have to throw them a few feet, right? Big gaping hole in the floor." "That sounds dangerous. Do take care of yourself. The items inside are well-padded, so don't trouble yourself worrying about them, just be careful. You know where to find Mr. Chang?" "I have a number to call and he will meet me and take the backpack. I can't get caught wandering the halls of the palace again. One run-in with that 'Row' dude was enough." "'Row'? You mean Hee-ro, Heero Yuy? He stopped you before?" "Yeah, and Duo cleared me, but a second time would be suspicious. I gotta exit near the ladies room, and as long as I'm not carrying loot, I'll be okay doing that. Don't worry. I hear this Chang guy is very reliable." "Oh, he is and he is extremely punctual so you'd best leave immediately." "He better not be crabby. I've had enough of prima donnas, I can tell ya. You, though, you've been awesome! Thanks and don't forget about the movie thing. You'd be great in it." "I won't forget. Goodbye, Hilde." (o) "We are all loaded and ready to take the van out to the airstrip, Master Quatre." "Thank you, Rashid!" To an outsider, the contrasting pair might have looked comical. Rashid was a dark-haired, mustached, swarthy man who stood two heads taller and nearly a shoulder's-width wider than the smooth-skinned, fair and much younger Quatre. Whereas one man looked weather beaten the other appeared fresh as a daisy. Rashid, leader of the Maguanacs Corps, had been an old and dear associate of Quatre's father, and upon the man's death, transferred that friendship to the son. As was his custom, Rashid treated the younger man with deference. "Also, Pargon is packed and ready to depart with us." "Oh, that's good! I'm glad he agreed to leave with you and not hold out until the princess was done. Thank you, Rashid. I think you should go, then. I'll travel with my sisters and Miss Relena, when she's ready." Relena, to the best of his knowledge, was outside. She'd left some time ago to speak to the children, who'd come to see the circus show, and to thank the circus staff. When all the packing had been done and the boxes whisked away, Iria and his others sisters had joined the princess to watch the end of the festivities. Only Quatre had stayed to ensure the Maguanacs left undeterred by any security glitches. "I'll see you on L4 territory soon, I trust?" "A week. You know where to unload the securities." "I shall personally conduct a thorough inventory and send you a copy." "Thank you. Perfect. They'll be safe with you until I get there, I know. I'm taking a little vacation of my own near Marseille." "A splendid plan, Master Quatre." "I think so, too." Quatre put away his phone, unrolled his sleeves, and slipped on his linen jacket for the trip outside. Although he knew he wouldn't find his lover there, he was looking forward to catching a peek of the circus tear-down, and keeping an eye on Heero Yuy. (o) Earlier that day, six train cars had unlinked from the rest and rolled alongside the Sanc treasury building with the freight locomotive. Guards with machine guns had positioned themselves along the track, while more men with carpenter gear pried up the floorboards of the railroad coaches. Milliardo supervised a team packing the five-pound gold ingots ten to a crate. At least a dozen workers hefted the crates onto the reinforced rolling platforms and wheeled bullion-laden dollies from the Sanc treasury building to the prepared train cars, while others unloaded and installed the Sanc kingdom bullion reserve into the ten-inch space below the floors. Then, working quickly, the carpenters hammered the boards back into place. Trowa slipped into each car and rubbed shoe polish over the shiny new nail heads to disguise them. He'd thought of every detail, but he couldn't have done it without Zechs' White Fang loyalist troops. He'd thank the man later when he had time, and if they got out of Sanc successfully. (o) Duo tucked the last of the faux treasures into the backpack especially constructed for the job. He hoped Hilde and Milliardo had successfully filled the pack's twin with the real thing, transferred them to Wufei without problems, and that by now Wufei had concealed them in his art crates. He hoped Trowa and Milliardo's men were moving the bullion without trouble and that his friend Quatre had been successful. The last signals he'd received indicated that everything had status "OK". Heero...? No! He blocked all thoughts about Heero. Not everything would go right, he knew. His job to pull off the filmed heist of the crown jewels was nearly complete. So, with a smile for the camera, he engaged the motor and began his ascent to the roof. What he'd find there, he wasn't sure, but he was mentally preparing for the worst. It was a good thing he had, because the moment he'd stuck his head and shoulders outside of the cut-out window his troubles began. First, it was raining steadily and, second, the backpack was extremely heavy. Getting down without breaking his neck was going to be a challenge. Again, he silently thanked Heero for showing Trowa and him the roof access and stairway. Traversing that short distance would still require death-defying acts of skill, but at least he wasn't facing a steep rappel from the roof to the ground several stories below, in the rain. "Take it slow," he muttered to himself. In his favor, the backpack design did a superb job of distributing the weight evenly so it didn't shift and throw him off-balance. He noticed that the circus sounds had changed. No longer were there cheers or ooh's and ah's of an audience, which meant that the show was over and the guards were less likely to be distracted. This is taking too long, he thought. The longer he was exposed, the more likely he'd be spotted and obstructed by someone in some way. Taking a small risk, he used the wires to do a controlled slide along the roof to the access door. He cut a finger yanking on the line to stop, and swore he'd never be stupid enough ever again not to bring gloves, but he did reach the landing and from there the roof outlet. Without counting his blessings, he raced down the stairs until reaching the exit door. There, he paused to reset the building's security system to "on" and check his messages for status updates. Hilde had had a "successful transfer" an hour ago. Trowa was still "good and on schedule". Quatre's update indicated that "the move was done". A new message came through as he read-Wufei was "mission complete." That left him holding the bag, literally. Which wasn't so bad, he told himself. And then he opened the door to find himself face-to-face with a seriously unhappy Heero Yuy.
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