[Fic] GW500 - 318 - train, One Afternoon in Zürich
I blame this on lil_1337 who managed to prompt a monster fic. Only the first part (of seven) will be posted here. The others will be posted at my writing journal one part per couple of days or so.
Title: One Afternoon in Zürich
Author: cailamaia
Pairing/Characters: 1+2 with a few hints of 2+1, leading to eventual 1x2x1, mention of peripheral 3x4
Rating: G
Warnings/Kinks: post-EW, some action, a smidge of adventure, a few hints of angst and sap, Heero POV
Word count: 1736
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just like to mess with them on occasion.
Notes: ~ Thoughts ~
Part 1 - Mission Acknowledged
I held back the irritated growl that wanted to force its way out as we exited the meeting room just before lunch. ~ A training exercise. And Une wants us to lead it? ~
My erstwhile partner and I had been called into a meeting, along with Trowa and Wufei, by the Commander herself first thing in the morning. I hadn't even had time to turn on my computer. Quatre was busy with the Preventers' quarterly budget request. That was his main responsibility.
The newest batch of recruits didn't seem to be quite up to par, and Une wanted us to work with them to sharpen their skills. Just how to do that had been left up to us.
"Heero?" Duo's voice broke into my thoughts.
"Hn?"
He waved Trowa and Wufei into our office. They had been almost as surprised as I had been when Une had sprung this request on us. The two of them had been working the paper trail behind some Russian smuggling ring.
Waiting until the door had been closed behind me, Duo let a downright evil smirk play across his features, as he spoke again. "Cheer up, guys. I've got an idea."
I had a sinking feeling I wasn't going to like this. Wufei eyed him warily, and Trowa raised an elegant eyebrow before speaking, "Well? So what is it?"
"A scavenger hunt for our new recruits."
"For what?"
"Heero and me."
~ I take it all back, I like this idea. ~ I smirked back at him, feeling a little better about the way the day was going. "A scavenger hunt. Details, Duo."
"Think paper chase. Nothing actually illegal, but the recruits have to chase us through a few cities of our choosing."
Trowa looked intrigued. "I like it. Which cities? What are the limitations? And what are our roles in this?"
Duo thought for a moment. "I hadn't plotted out the details yet. How about here, Fribourg, Bern, and Zürich? They're all within reach. Let's see. Today's Wednesday. If Heero and I aren't found by the recruits within 48 hours, we win. Of course, we'll play nice, so they have a chance and leave a reasonably clear trail."
We could all disappear very well. It was a skill we'd picked up during our training, and honed during the two wars we'd survived.
Another pause for thought, and Duo continued, "As for limitations, no flights, but airports are fair game, as are other forms of public transportation. No just picking out a safehouse and going to ground. We have to 'check in' and leave a clue for the recruits to find once every couple of hours, at least. Oh, and we call a halt at 2200 for the night, and start again at 0800 the next morning."
I put in, "Trowa and Chang can help the recruits if they feel the hints we leave are too obscure. And if the recruits are too hopeless, Trowa and Wufei can call a halt and let us know."
Trowa snorted and Wufei nodded. "A good idea, Yuy. They may need the help."
Duo looked at us, grinning widely in anticipation. "So... Do we have a plan we can submit to the Commander that will explain why we're not coming back to the office for 48 hours or so?"
No one objected. We were all looking forward to the game. ~ This will be much more interesting than following paperwork trails. ~
A short typed report to the Commander detailing the plan and predicted outcome was sent, and within an hour we had the authorization to put our plan into action first thing tomorrow morning.
Trowa and Wufei were sent off to talk to the recruits and explain the challenge to them. Duo and I set about planning. Starting at the Preventers HQ in Geneva gave us the advantage of having access to the country's excellent rail network. And our Preventers badges would give us access to just about anything. Of course, those would also be the easiest thing to track.
Duo set about creating a few -- blatantly obvious, to us -- fake personae for each of us, complete with background, history, and papers. Including rail passes. As he worked, I looked up and printed the train schedules for the lines we would be most likely to use. A rental car would be too easy to trace.
Almost before I realised it, the afternoon was nearly over. When the time registered, I wondered briefly where this little adventure would lead us.
At some point I would have to sit down and work out just why Duo seemed to have become so much more important to me than the others. Granted, I liked all of them and considered them friends. And yet... there was just something about Duo that transcended mere friendship. He called it being best friends. I wasn't totally convinced.
I looked up, just in time to catch a glimpse of the setting sun streaming in through the window and gilding everything in the room. Including Duo. The gold and red highlights in his hair all but glowed in the light. It made a stunning sight.
And then he looked up, feeling eyes on him, and the moment was broken.
"What's up, Heero?"
"Almost time to go."
"Right. I can finish this up from home. Only detail work left, anyhow. C'mon." Standing, he started shoving the necessary files into a messy stack.
I followed suit, taking a moment to straighten his pile of files as he shrugged into his long black coat. He has always liked black. Why, I'm not sure.
We exited the building to be hit by a wall of cold February air. The weather was just slowly beginning to thaw out, but still bitter enough to make a coat necessary.
I could have ignored the cold, but there was no need to expend the effort. I'd chosen to wear my Preventers issue jacket.
We'd ended up renting a place outside Geneva, in Satigny. Which meant that we could easily catch a train a few hundred yards from the office and get off again a few hundred yards from home at the Satigny station. Literally ten minutes away. It was one of the best things about living in this country.
Before long, we reached the station and made our way through the maze of corridors to the correct platform. The wind was wilder here, where it was open. And colder.
Duo was rambling on about whatever caught his attention as we walked. His focus on the job is usually impeccable, though his humour can be ill-timed. But once he no longer has to maintain that focus, he lets himself wander from topic to topic as the whim takes him. He'll be set off by a flash of color here, or an antique car there, or the cute waitress cleaning tables at the café across the street.
I let him. ~ It's far easier that way. Trying to stop him is akin to trying to force a river to flow uphill. ~ The thought makes me shake my head sadly. And gets me an odd look from Duo.
"Heero?"
"Nan demo nai."
"Riiiight." He eyed me warily. "If it makes you lapse back into Japanese, it must be something you're thinking hard about."
~ That's the other reason for keeping silent. He may put up the façade of being the feckless careless joker, but that's not at all accurate. He's easily one of the keenest intellects I've ever worked with. ~
"Nevermind. It's nothing. Just thinking."
"Alright, I can take a hint."
He'd made a show of not wanting to press, but I could tell he was curious. ~ Maybe I'll tell him at some point. ~
The train pulled slowly into the station, then, saving me from having to explain as we climbed on and searched for a pair of free seats. It was more difficult than it sounds, since this was the main rush hour. Everyone was trying to get home. And this wasn't even the most popular route.
Eventually we managed, just before the train departed.
Throwing together a pair of sandwiches after we got back to our shared apartment, I watched as Duo sat back on the sofa and tossed his stack of files onto the coffeetable then set his in his hands.
"Duo."
"Yeah?"
"What do you still have left to do?"
"Not a lot. Just a few small tweaks to our last personae. Family history, blood type, that sort of thing."
"Think the trainees will even have the idea to look at the details?"
"If there are any good ones in the lot, they should."
"Hn. Where should we go first?"
"Well, I was thinking it might be interesting to split up for the first few hours and meet in Zürich for lunch."
"Don't you think that's too high a difficulty level to start at?"
He grimaced. "You're probably right."
"We can do that on the second day, if they show promise. For now why don't we do what they will expect and get out of here as quickly as possible?"
He gave me a wry look. "Ok, there has to be more to your plan than that."
I smirked. "Of course there is. If we buy tickets directly to Zürich under our own names, and get on the train as they would expect, but never show up..."
"Ah, I see what you did there. So where do we go instead?"
"Well, we can leave them a clue in one of our new names instead."
He nodded slowly, "And see which of them catches on, if any. Oh, Tro and 'Fei are going to have a field day with this."
~ So will you. ~ Aloud I responded, "Probably."
Duo insisted on filling in the last details of our personae anyway. He's a perfectionist about certain things. Identity is one of them. A couple of hours later, satisfied at last, he handed me a set of papers for no less than three new false names.
"You don't seriously think we'll need more than one of these, do you?"
Duo shrugged. "Who knows? They probably won't fool Tro or 'Fei, but that's to be expected, really. I had to cut some corners."
I gave him an exasperated half-glare. "I'm sure they'll serve their purpose. Now, get some sleep. We're moving out at 0615 tomorrow."
He mockingly saluted me as he turned and left the room. "Aye aye, cap'n!"
"Baka."
Title: One Afternoon in Zürich
Author: cailamaia
Pairing/Characters: 1+2 with a few hints of 2+1, leading to eventual 1x2x1, mention of peripheral 3x4
Rating: G
Warnings/Kinks: post-EW, some action, a smidge of adventure, a few hints of angst and sap, Heero POV
Word count: 1736
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I just like to mess with them on occasion.
Notes: ~ Thoughts ~
Part 1 - Mission Acknowledged
I held back the irritated growl that wanted to force its way out as we exited the meeting room just before lunch. ~ A training exercise. And Une wants us to lead it? ~
My erstwhile partner and I had been called into a meeting, along with Trowa and Wufei, by the Commander herself first thing in the morning. I hadn't even had time to turn on my computer. Quatre was busy with the Preventers' quarterly budget request. That was his main responsibility.
The newest batch of recruits didn't seem to be quite up to par, and Une wanted us to work with them to sharpen their skills. Just how to do that had been left up to us.
"Heero?" Duo's voice broke into my thoughts.
"Hn?"
He waved Trowa and Wufei into our office. They had been almost as surprised as I had been when Une had sprung this request on us. The two of them had been working the paper trail behind some Russian smuggling ring.
Waiting until the door had been closed behind me, Duo let a downright evil smirk play across his features, as he spoke again. "Cheer up, guys. I've got an idea."
I had a sinking feeling I wasn't going to like this. Wufei eyed him warily, and Trowa raised an elegant eyebrow before speaking, "Well? So what is it?"
"A scavenger hunt for our new recruits."
"For what?"
"Heero and me."
~ I take it all back, I like this idea. ~ I smirked back at him, feeling a little better about the way the day was going. "A scavenger hunt. Details, Duo."
"Think paper chase. Nothing actually illegal, but the recruits have to chase us through a few cities of our choosing."
Trowa looked intrigued. "I like it. Which cities? What are the limitations? And what are our roles in this?"
Duo thought for a moment. "I hadn't plotted out the details yet. How about here, Fribourg, Bern, and Zürich? They're all within reach. Let's see. Today's Wednesday. If Heero and I aren't found by the recruits within 48 hours, we win. Of course, we'll play nice, so they have a chance and leave a reasonably clear trail."
We could all disappear very well. It was a skill we'd picked up during our training, and honed during the two wars we'd survived.
Another pause for thought, and Duo continued, "As for limitations, no flights, but airports are fair game, as are other forms of public transportation. No just picking out a safehouse and going to ground. We have to 'check in' and leave a clue for the recruits to find once every couple of hours, at least. Oh, and we call a halt at 2200 for the night, and start again at 0800 the next morning."
I put in, "Trowa and Chang can help the recruits if they feel the hints we leave are too obscure. And if the recruits are too hopeless, Trowa and Wufei can call a halt and let us know."
Trowa snorted and Wufei nodded. "A good idea, Yuy. They may need the help."
Duo looked at us, grinning widely in anticipation. "So... Do we have a plan we can submit to the Commander that will explain why we're not coming back to the office for 48 hours or so?"
No one objected. We were all looking forward to the game. ~ This will be much more interesting than following paperwork trails. ~
A short typed report to the Commander detailing the plan and predicted outcome was sent, and within an hour we had the authorization to put our plan into action first thing tomorrow morning.
Trowa and Wufei were sent off to talk to the recruits and explain the challenge to them. Duo and I set about planning. Starting at the Preventers HQ in Geneva gave us the advantage of having access to the country's excellent rail network. And our Preventers badges would give us access to just about anything. Of course, those would also be the easiest thing to track.
Duo set about creating a few -- blatantly obvious, to us -- fake personae for each of us, complete with background, history, and papers. Including rail passes. As he worked, I looked up and printed the train schedules for the lines we would be most likely to use. A rental car would be too easy to trace.
Almost before I realised it, the afternoon was nearly over. When the time registered, I wondered briefly where this little adventure would lead us.
At some point I would have to sit down and work out just why Duo seemed to have become so much more important to me than the others. Granted, I liked all of them and considered them friends. And yet... there was just something about Duo that transcended mere friendship. He called it being best friends. I wasn't totally convinced.
I looked up, just in time to catch a glimpse of the setting sun streaming in through the window and gilding everything in the room. Including Duo. The gold and red highlights in his hair all but glowed in the light. It made a stunning sight.
And then he looked up, feeling eyes on him, and the moment was broken.
"What's up, Heero?"
"Almost time to go."
"Right. I can finish this up from home. Only detail work left, anyhow. C'mon." Standing, he started shoving the necessary files into a messy stack.
I followed suit, taking a moment to straighten his pile of files as he shrugged into his long black coat. He has always liked black. Why, I'm not sure.
We exited the building to be hit by a wall of cold February air. The weather was just slowly beginning to thaw out, but still bitter enough to make a coat necessary.
I could have ignored the cold, but there was no need to expend the effort. I'd chosen to wear my Preventers issue jacket.
We'd ended up renting a place outside Geneva, in Satigny. Which meant that we could easily catch a train a few hundred yards from the office and get off again a few hundred yards from home at the Satigny station. Literally ten minutes away. It was one of the best things about living in this country.
Before long, we reached the station and made our way through the maze of corridors to the correct platform. The wind was wilder here, where it was open. And colder.
Duo was rambling on about whatever caught his attention as we walked. His focus on the job is usually impeccable, though his humour can be ill-timed. But once he no longer has to maintain that focus, he lets himself wander from topic to topic as the whim takes him. He'll be set off by a flash of color here, or an antique car there, or the cute waitress cleaning tables at the café across the street.
I let him. ~ It's far easier that way. Trying to stop him is akin to trying to force a river to flow uphill. ~ The thought makes me shake my head sadly. And gets me an odd look from Duo.
"Heero?"
"Nan demo nai."
"Riiiight." He eyed me warily. "If it makes you lapse back into Japanese, it must be something you're thinking hard about."
~ That's the other reason for keeping silent. He may put up the façade of being the feckless careless joker, but that's not at all accurate. He's easily one of the keenest intellects I've ever worked with. ~
"Nevermind. It's nothing. Just thinking."
"Alright, I can take a hint."
He'd made a show of not wanting to press, but I could tell he was curious. ~ Maybe I'll tell him at some point. ~
The train pulled slowly into the station, then, saving me from having to explain as we climbed on and searched for a pair of free seats. It was more difficult than it sounds, since this was the main rush hour. Everyone was trying to get home. And this wasn't even the most popular route.
Eventually we managed, just before the train departed.
Throwing together a pair of sandwiches after we got back to our shared apartment, I watched as Duo sat back on the sofa and tossed his stack of files onto the coffeetable then set his in his hands.
"Duo."
"Yeah?"
"What do you still have left to do?"
"Not a lot. Just a few small tweaks to our last personae. Family history, blood type, that sort of thing."
"Think the trainees will even have the idea to look at the details?"
"If there are any good ones in the lot, they should."
"Hn. Where should we go first?"
"Well, I was thinking it might be interesting to split up for the first few hours and meet in Zürich for lunch."
"Don't you think that's too high a difficulty level to start at?"
He grimaced. "You're probably right."
"We can do that on the second day, if they show promise. For now why don't we do what they will expect and get out of here as quickly as possible?"
He gave me a wry look. "Ok, there has to be more to your plan than that."
I smirked. "Of course there is. If we buy tickets directly to Zürich under our own names, and get on the train as they would expect, but never show up..."
"Ah, I see what you did there. So where do we go instead?"
"Well, we can leave them a clue in one of our new names instead."
He nodded slowly, "And see which of them catches on, if any. Oh, Tro and 'Fei are going to have a field day with this."
~ So will you. ~ Aloud I responded, "Probably."
Duo insisted on filling in the last details of our personae anyway. He's a perfectionist about certain things. Identity is one of them. A couple of hours later, satisfied at last, he handed me a set of papers for no less than three new false names.
"You don't seriously think we'll need more than one of these, do you?"
Duo shrugged. "Who knows? They probably won't fool Tro or 'Fei, but that's to be expected, really. I had to cut some corners."
I gave him an exasperated half-glare. "I'm sure they'll serve their purpose. Now, get some sleep. We're moving out at 0615 tomorrow."
He mockingly saluted me as he turned and left the room. "Aye aye, cap'n!"
"Baka."