Wufei had dreaded this day for a week. He'd promised Duo that he would go with him to serve ten hours of his forty-hour community service sentence. So, they were going to help plant a park.

Quatre and Trowa had escaped this fate by having a meeting with the Board of the bank Quatre was trying to get a loan from. They seemed to want to see how many hoops Quatre would jump through before they gave him the loan. Quatre was just about disgusted with them. He was looking into alternative financing. Hard. But, he'd promised Trowa one more meeting. So they were going to the bank, on a Saturday morning.

Duo grumbled, he and morning weren't friends this morning. He'd stayed awake too late last night doing a paper for his Poly Sci. class. It wasn't due until next week, but he'd finished it last night and mailed it early. So now he didn't want to get up.

Wufei didn't dump Duo this morning, he resorted to something much more subtle. He bribed Duo with coffee and a Danish, in bed. He had watched Duo work on his paper with a single-minded intensity that he found admirable, so he fanned the smell of coffee over his face and watched his nose twitch like a rabbit's.

"Mmmm, ‘Fei? Oh . . . coffee? Will you bear my children?" Duo took the cup and plate, scrooched up in the bed and downed the scalding coffee in two gulps.

"Maxwell, you'll scald yourself."

"Naw, cast iron mouth. Thanks Wufei, really."

Wufei eyed Duo for a moment, he didn't show any signs of going back to sleep, so he headed for the door, throwing the command to ‘Get up now!' over his shoulder.

Duo wolfed the Danish and made it through the shower in twenty minutes, braiding his hair wet, he made it to the kitchen in time for eggs and toast. Which he stuffed into his mouth on his way to the door

"Maxwell, slow down you'll choke."

"Can't . . . we'll be late and I don't want to start out on the wrong foot. Won't look good. Come on, hurry up."

Wufei felt slightly offended, after all it wasn't his fault they were running late.

Duo made an apologetic face. "Sorry, Chang-dono. I know it's my fault, but come on."

Wufei shook his head, "Duo. I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't mix Chinese and ancient Japanese. It's . . . not . . . it's just too odd for me. Now come on."

They got into the car, and the driver assured them that they wouldn't be late. The park was just off a major street and had easy access.

~ * ~

Mr. Compton grumbled sourly. This day was going from bad to worse quickly. There was some trouble over in Group A, his request for papers was still bouncing around the system, and the boy who was supposed to go help in the park had broken his arm.

"Heero, I know you are . . . shy. But I really need a favor from you. Gary broke his arm falling out of his bunk. He was supposed to go work in the new park in the city. I'd like to send you, but I know you are not comfortable about some things. How do you feel about this?"

Heero considered, "How many of us are going and who will go with us?"

Mr. Compton sighed. "Coffee?" Heero accepted the coffee with a smile and a nod of thanks. "Four of you. Two from here and two from the jail. Mr. Anderson and a guard from the jail . . . I don't have his name. It'll be one of the sheriff's deputies. Your sponsor is one of the inmates from the jail. Will you go?"

Heero considered; he wasn't too fond of the idea of being around a crowd of strangers but they were all civilians. Being in chains didn't bother him, he knew he could break them anytime he needed to, so that wasn't a problem. He knew two of the five others, maybe three. Mr. Anderson and Evan Brown were ‘cool,' the other boy from here had to be one of three, all of whom he knew slightly. The jail inmate and guard were problematical but two unknowns out of five wasn't bad, and they had to fit into certain parameters, otherwise they wouldn't be in the program.

"I'll go. The risks are minimal. And . . ." Heero stopped dead. Mr. Compton didn't need a mission diagnosis. He smiled. "I'll be fine."

Mr. Compton had watched the expressions flitting over Heero's face and realized that he was analyzing the situation carefully. *What goes on in that boy's head?*

"Thank you. . . . Heero?" Heero raised an eyebrow in inquiry. "If anything goes wrong, anything; do what you think you ought. We'll deal with the consequences. You understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

Neither understood the other at all.

Heero went directly from the Headmasters Office to the van. He greeted Mr. Anderson and Evan, then couldn't help a wide smile; the guard from the jail was the Sheriff himself. He greeted Sheriff Haskins with relief, and he knew the jail inmate by sight.

Haskins grunted, dug around under the seat and pulled out Heero's irons. "Gimme your . . . " Heero had already climbed into the van and put his ankles on the door sill. "How long you been on a gang?"

Heero shrugged "A while. You don't watch tv much do you?"

"Been out of state at a convention. You on tv?"

Heero settled in and let the Sheriff fasten his seatbelt. "Yeah, WWEI did a segment on chain gangs; they seemed to like me for some reason I couldn't tell you."

The other prisoner was a jokester or thought he was. "That's because you're just soooo pretty. Very . . . um . . . sorry, sorry." Heero's glare shut him up with a gulp.

Haskins just told them all to shut up and handed around breakfast.

Heero ate the muffin, egg and bacon thing, and drank the too sweet orange-flavored beverage *Glad they don't have the nerve to call it orange drink.* and wished for another cup of coffee.

When he was done with his meal he went back to sleep without thinking about it. It had been necessary during the war. Anytime they'd been in a vehicle that they weren't driving they'd taken the opportunity to bank z's. He didn't realize it when he slumped over, winding up on Evans shoulder.

"Heero, come on boy, wake up. Easy there, it's just me." The Sheriff poked Heero with his nightstick, shaking him awake from a safe distance.

Heero grumbled softly "I'm awake. We there?" then stretched slowly and throughly, like a great cat coming awake.

"Yeah, get yourself awake. Don't forget those irons and fall out of the van." Heero was glad for the warning; he had indeed forgotten the leg irons and would have tripped himself or broken them.

The Joker suddenly got a scared look on his face and stumbled away mumbling ‘fuck'. Sheriff Haskins looked after him with a stony stare. "You stay away from that one. He's nothing but trouble." Heero pinned the Sheriff with a flat look. "He qualified for the program. He's not vicious or anything like that. He's just . . . dumb. Plays pranks and stuff. But mostly they turn out . . . bad.

"He was a Quisling during the war and is in jail for fraud under $500, ninety days and he's made every one of them, so far, miserable with his stupid jokes and pranks. Just . . . watch him. I don't want you killing him by mistake."

Heero nodded. He was used to practical jokes thanks to Duo, but his jokes were carefully engineered not to start something with a bunch of hyper strung soldiers. This idiot could get himself killed. The wars had only been over for little more than a year, and there were still lots of men and women out there with reactions that didn't sit well with jokes.

They were all called to order by a policeman, who consulted with the Sheriff and Mr. Anderson then addressed them, thanking them for coming and telling them that no one was allowed to bother them in anyway. They were allowed to talk to anyone they wanted to but they should stay together and be sure that they were within sight of either the Sheriff or Mr. Anderson at all times. Then he handed out the chores. Heero and Evan were sent to mow off an area that was shoulder high with weeds. It was large for hand mowing but it contained several very nice, large lilac bushes and some antique roses which made it impossible to machine mow.

"Ok, Heero, let's go. It's going to take us most of the morning to do this. You good?"

Heero grunted at Evan who snickered softly. They went to get their scythes and the Joker had to make some kind of stupid remark. "You look like the God of Death with that thing. Only you're too young. " He though it was hilarious the way he laughed but the whites of his eyes suddenly showed as Heero took a swing with the scythe and smiled coldly.

"You've mixed me up with my lover. Watch yourself. You're liable to piss me off. You don't want to do that. I'd suggest you settle down and act your age instead of your IQ."

Heero turned his back on the suddenly shaking man and went to work on the weed-filled plot. Evan watched him for a few moments wondering what Parker knew that the rest of them didn't. He shrugged off his misgivings and followed Heero into the weedy mess taking up his place behind and beside Heero.

~ * ~

Duo and Wufei found the counselor they were to stay with. Duo gave the woman a sullen look; Wufei poked him and hissed, "It's not her fault. You mess this up and you're liable to have to spend the rest of the sentence in a cell. Make nice."

Mrs. Campbell heard Wufei and sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. She'd tried to get the judge to reverse his sentence but he'd said that the "boy needs to learn impulse control."

"Mr. Maxwell, I don't want to start out on the wrong foot. I know you didn't mean any harm. You didn't even leave the lot with the mobile suit. Mr. Winner dropped all the charges so this is just an exercise in stubbornness on the part of Judge Randolph. I'm putting you and your friend . . . what are your . . . I can't find papers on . . . what's your name?"

Wufei just bowed slightly, "Chang Wufei. I came with Duo, just for moral support. I'm volunteering, not . . . er . . . I'm just here."

"OH, that's very kind of you. It's going to be a long hard day. I'm putting you both on the same crew. I'm glad I don't have to try to keep you separated. That's always a nuisance. What would you like to do? You can plant bedding plants, or . . . um . . . no, they've got the convict boys mowing that lot. Then there's a lot of mulch and rock to unload. They've got the other two convicts doing that. But . . . oh, plant bedding plants . . . you can't mess that up too bad. Come on."

Duo watched the woman and realized that she was just disorganized enough that they were going to be in real trouble soon. He gently took the clip board from her and handed it to Chang. "Here, figure out this mess. I'll see if I can't find the lady some coffee and I'll be right back."

Wufei watched as Duo applied his not-inconsiderable personal charm to soothing the woman and getting things a great deal more organized. He quickly made notes on what still had to be organized and realized that most of the organization had been done by someone else.

He got a group of older ladies started on bedding plants and another group of men following right after to mulch and water the new plantings. Then he realized that he'd done the woman's job so quickly that, instead of the usual wandering for an hour, they were well started and it was only 9 a.m.

Duo wandered up with coffee for them both and took the clip board. "Mmmmm. We'll have to see about lunch pretty soon. Where did Campbell go?"

Wufei made a sour face. "Don't have a clue. Find out if there are some arrangements for lunch. There aren't any notes. Damn, I wish Quatre was here. He's better at this than I am."

Duo put an arm around Wufei's shoulders and gave him a quick friendly hug. "You're doing fine. All you have to do is organize stuff that's already provided. I'll find Campbell and ask her if there's any plans for food and get back to you."

Wufei went to the pavilion and sat down at a small table where he started reading all the notes. They were neat and legible, obviously not Mrs. Campbell's. Her writing was scrawling and wandered up and down hill. Her annotations to the original notes didn't make any sense to Wufei, so he ignored them in favor of the neater ones.

Lunch, it seemed, was a combination affair. Meat provided by a local grocery chain and side dishes carried in by volunteers. This could prove to be messy. Wufei had no idea how to organize such a thing.

"Excuse me. I'm looking for that Campbell woman."

Wufei looked up to find a man in a brown uniform looming over him.

"She's not around. I'm taking over for the . . .ahem. How can I help you?"

"Name's Haskins. I think the word you're looking for is feather-head. She's nice enough and well meaning. But not real organized. That's why I'm here, to make sure there are arrangements for my people. Most of the ‘nice' people don't want a bunch of chain gangers around them. So I want to make sure that they get fed."

Wufei stood up and shook hands with the man, he recognized him now. "There's a small pavilion just up the way, you can see it from here. I'll make sure that there's food there for. . . how many?"

"Six. But two are teenagers. And all the guys are putting in a long hard day. So I'd appreciate it if you'd see that there is plenty. Two hot dogs apiece won't cut it."

Haskins liked the look of the serious oriental boy. He looked like he knew which end of the pencil was pointed, at least. Wufei was more than willing to help out the Sheriff that had been so nice to Heero.

"I'll be sure that you all get plenty. It might not be as nice as going through the line but there'll certainly be more that a hot dog or two." Wufei made notes in his tidy kanji. "There's a guy with a long braid. Don't make any smart remarks, he's a great deal more dangerous than he looks. He'll bring you your food. He might even get it set up before you get there. If there's any problem, look me up and I'll take care of it."

Haskins wasn't the type to make remarks but he let it drop. The boy was obviously protective of the other. As long as his men got fed properly, he didn't care if a gorilla brought it.

~ * ~

Heero eyed the lot. They were almost finished with it and he was hot and sweaty. He really wanted a drink of water and a few minutes breather.

"Evan, I need a drink and so do you. We're going to get dehydrated if we keep this up. Is there any water?"

Evan looked around and saw the water cooler. He motioned and they both headed for it, intent on getting drinks and standing in the shade for a few minutes. They were stopped halfway there by a cop who looked a little aggravated.

"You're supposed to be mowing. Where do you think you're going?"

Heero pinned the man with a look that made him reconsider listening to that quisling. "We think we're going to get a drink and rest out of the sun for a few minutes. You got a problem?" Heero waited for a heart beat. "Didn't think so."

Evan sighed. "Boy, I don't think I've ever seen a guy like you. I hope you never point that look at me. Here." Evan handed Heero a cup of water and took another one for himself. The sheriff came up to see what they were doing and called the other two men in to get a drink too.

"We're going to get lunch at that little pavilion. The organizer, if you can call her that, has turned her duties over to some young Chinese guy. Thank heaven. He says he'll make sure that there's real food there." He looked at his watch. "I'll make sure there's plenty of time to rest after you eat. I don't want anyone getting sick. Take a good rest, then get back to work. Lunch in about three hours. Ok?"

All the men made agreement type sounds and went back to work, taking their time.

The next three hours were spent in finishing their assigned tasks.

No one bothered them or even really payed much attention. There were a few odd looks when someone realized that they were in leg irons. But other than that, they were left to their own devices.

~ * ~

Duo turned when he heard Wufei swear. Wufei was looking at his phone and muttering something that Duo recognized as Mandarin and not nice.

"What? . . . Fei. What is it now?" Duo was slightly tired of cleaning up after Mrs. Campbell's messes. She was the most disorganized organizer he'd ever seen. Between them, they had spent the last two hours making sure that things didn't fall apart before they even got started.

"There are no arrangements for anyone to pickup the meat. The donator just called wanting to know when it would be picked up. I'll try to find someone with a car that will agree to go."

Duo rubbed his temple. He was getting a headache from all the running around he'd been doing. The sun was hot and it was humid enough that it felt like breathing through a sponge.

"Tell whoever you find that I'll go with, if they want . . . to help load and unload. Wufei . . ." Wufei turned at his soft voice. "Thanks. You have no idea what . . . everything means to me. Really. Just . . . " Duo sighed and looked into the near distance.

"It's ok. I . . . owe you both. We . . . depend on each other. You've given me . . . we . . ." Wufei just followed Duo's line of sight.

They both went back to work, changing the subject to one more comfortable to both of them.

"Excuse me. I'm here to get someone to help me with the meat. I got a text on my phone."

Wufei and Duo turned to see a middle sized man standing just under the pavilion. He was smiling slightly at them and they both smiled back

"Hey . . . My name's Duo, this is Wufei. Mrs. Campbell seems to have . . . er . . . wandered off somewhere. We're just sort of stuck with this. Wufei is organizing and I'm goffering. If you'll drive me to where ever it is, I'll do the grunt work. Ok?"

"Yes that'll be fine. My name's Randolph. Pleased to meet you."

They shook hands all around and Duo followed the man to his car.

On the way to the grocery store, Mr Randolph struck up a conversation with Duo, first asking him why he was doing Mrs Campbell's job.

When he asked, Duo made a rude noise. "That woman is the most disorganized adult it's ever been my misfortune to deal with. She couldn't manage a setting hen and a clutch of eggs."

"She's very nice. And dedicated."

"I didn't say she wasn't. That doesn't mean she's qualified to do the job she's supposed to be doing."

"I see. You're a little judgmental. But I suppose that's your age showing. Although I shouldn't say anything."

Duo turned and watched the man's profile for a few moments. "I learned to judge people quickly at an early age. Survival."

"I see." The man risked a quick glance at Duo

"Doubt it. I may look young, but I'm older than dirt." Duo looked out the window and wished they'd get to the store.

"You're . . . what . . . seventeen? That's very young."

"I'm old in experience. I grew up in the streets of L2. It ages you real quick." Duo sighed; his look out the window had let him see the construction mobile that had started all this.

"Don't even think it. That thing is dangerous. I just sentenced a boy about your age to forty hours community service for operating heavy machinery without certification for fooling around with that very machine."

Duo choked on the soda he was swallowing. This guy was the judge.

"Hey! You ok?"

Duo coughed up the soda and nodded, saying in a choked voice. "Yeah, I'm ok. But, how do you know he wasn't qualified?"

"He's too young. "

Duo prayed he wasn't messing up Quatre's plans, but this was too good a chance to pass up.

"I'm not too young. I started training to operate mobiles when I was twelve. I'm one of the Gundam pilots."

"Now, young man, don't try to pull the wool over my eyes. The youngest pilot is that Winner boy. Then Chang. The other three are in their twenties."

"Excuse me? How the hell do you know that?"

"It was extrapolated from their probable age at Operation Meteor. They had to be at least twenty. Then . . ."

Duo crushed his soda can in one fist.

"I'm seventeen. I'm Duo Maxwell. Trowa Barton may be eighteen. We were all fifteen when Meteor started. I don't know where you got your Intel but you should check your figures." Duo settled back in his seat muttering direly.

"But . . . that's . . . barbaric."

"Yeah, war's that way. You want barbaric? That's trying to send a seventeen-year-old who only followed orders to Hellcreek. That's barbaric."

Duo shut up before he said more than he should and hoped that he hadn't said too much.

Judge Randolph did some heavy thinking on the rest of the drive.

When they arrived at the store, Duo just hopped out and headed into the store. He found the manager and found out that they needed to go around to the back loading dock.

Judge Randolph drove around to the back and got out to help load, and found Duo in a smiling conference with the manager.

"Yeah, that's great. You send all the overages to the food bank? Look, you send in some paper work to WEI marked ‘Attention: Duo Maxwell' and I'll see if I can't get you some help with the delivery."

Duo stepped down into the well and reached up for the first box. An older man twice Duo's size just laughed. "Here, let me help. I know you're capable but it's easier on me cause I'm taller."

The transfer was accomplished with no additional trouble or conversation and they made it back to the park driving in slightly strained silence.

Duo unloaded the hot dogs and turned them over to the cooks. It turned out that the judge was one and was organizing the food prep. Duo left him to it, confident that he wasn't going to have any more trouble in that department.

~ * ~

Heero started to sit down at the table. The spread was nice. Someone had made sure that they had potato salad, cole slaw, mac and cheese, several desserts and hot dogs. As he loaded his plate, he glanced down the rise toward the other pavilion. He nearly dropped his plate. He looked closer, there was no denying that long, gold-shot, chestnut braid.

"Oh, my god." Heero put down his plate with shaking hands and grabbed Mr. Anderson by the arm. "Please, Mr. Anderson. That's Duo. I need . . . please, you said we could sit where we wanted to. I . . ." Heero realized that he wasn't making any sense at all and tried to calm himself.

Mr. Anderson firmly pried Heero's bruising fingers from around his arm and patted him on the shoulder.

"You can go sit with your friend. But the irons stay on. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I couldn't care less. As long as I get to see Duo you could put me in a straightjacket. I'm . . . probably not making any sense at all, am I."

Mr. Anderson just smiled at Heero. He looked like he was about to explode.

"Go. I'll bring your plate."

Heero took off with Mr. Anderson right behind him. On the way, he managed to get himself under some kind of control.

He walked up behind Duo and realized that Wufei was sitting right beside him.

"Is it all right if I sit here?"

Duo froze, he couldn't be hearing what he thought he was.

"Wufei, I've finally gone round the bend. I just heard Heero."

Heero just plucked Duo off the bench, enveloped him in a rib crushing hug, and held on. Wufei flinched, then grabbed them both. Bystanders were treated to the sight of three boys in a hug-huddle, with a large man in uniform standing by with a plate in his hand and a giant grin on his face.

"Ok, you three . . . come up for air. Here. Heero, sit down on the bench and you two . . . just make sure he eats. Ok?"

While Mr. Anderson had been speaking, Duo had been kissing whatever part of Heero's face he could get to. Heero had been kissing right back, while Wufei just held on to them both.

Wufei managed to get them to sit down on the bench. Duo clung to Heero like he was afraid he would disappear; Wufei combated the urge to do the same.

"Heero, what the hell are you doing here? You didn't escape. I saw that man, who's he? Is he nice? Are you ok? Do you want anything? I'll get you some more soda."

Heero maneuvered his legs under the table quickly. He didn't want Duo to see the leg irons just yet. Wufei reached over and gently put his hand over Duo's mouth. Heero nearly smacked him. It didn't make any difference to him that Duo was babbling, he was just glad to hear his voice.

"Don't. Let him talk."

Wufei just smiled and let Duo babble. He was nearly delirious. Wufei realized that he couldn't stop smiling himself.

Heero had gathered Duo against his chest and was holding him with one hand. Wufei leaned into him from the other side. Heero was in heaven. All it needed was the other two men to complete his joy.

"Duo, shush. Where's Quatre and Trowa? I'd like to see them too. Before I have to go back to work."

Duo quit talking, glanced at Wufei, and then put his head on Heero's shoulder.

Wufei took up the question. "Quatre is still trying to get a loan from that local bank. He and Trowa are meeting with the board one last time. If they can't get the loan, I think Quatre is going to take the whole project somewhere more cooperative. I'm sorry. Quatre will be so sorry to miss you, and Trowa too. . ."

Wufei managed to pry Duo off Heero, with some resistance on Heero's part. "You better eat. If you have to go back to work, you'll need the food." Heero made a face. "Heero, we're not going anywhere. Now that we know you're here, we'll see if we can't work on the same project. At least we'll be together." Wufei pushed Duo's plate in front of him. "Both of you, eat."

Duo managed to eat left handed as neither of them wanted to let go of the other's hand. Wufei found that he couldn't bear to lose contact with Heero either, so Heero was hampered on both sides. Duo held his left hand and Wufei pressed up to his right side, but he didn't complain.

Judge Randolph came around to see if Duo had gotten the small pavilion set up, and was startled to see Duo hanging all over one of the chain gang prisoners.

"Hello? Duo, who's this?"

Duo got himself together and gave Wufei a significant look.

Wufei stood, bowed to the judge and introduced himself, then Heero.

Judge Randolph blinked. Heero looked every one of his seventeen years. The time he'd spent in therapy at Fitzroy showed to advantage now.

"Hello, how are you, Sir. Pleased to meet you."

Duo had to clamp a hand over his mouth. Only six months ago Heero would have greeted the man with a scowl and a grunt. Now he looked and acted like a ‘normal' seventeen year old. **Show them what they expect to see. It's a lot better for you.**

Judge Randolph shook hands with Heero and felt a cold chill run over him. This boy was the Heero Yuy. Right there in front of him.

Duo suddenly groaned. "Busted. Oh, man. Heero . . . I'm sorry."

"I'm not. It's time to quit hiding. Relena's plans didn't work. Now we go with Quat's idea." Heero hugged Duo. "To do that, I'm back on the hot seat. It's ok."

"It's ok? What's ok? I don't understand." The judge looked from one boy to the other; Wufei took it upon himself to explain.

"Now that you know who Heero really is, . . . he's . . . er . . . found. They'll send him to Hellcreek now. He's been at Fitzroy."

"He'll stay there until I get this mess figured out. I'm going to write a court order mandating he stay where he is until further notice. That'll hold them off until we . . . I mean by that, the court system, can figure out the right thing. For Heero."

Duo nearly threw himself onto the judge's chest; Heero managed to restrain him, which kept him from doing the same thing. Wufei sighed his relief.

"You boys, don't worry about a thing. I'll have that order written and registered in five minutes. It's actually a form. Enjoy the rest of your day . . . " The judge started to turn away, but the rattling of Heero's chain attracted his attention. "What the hell is that?"

Heero set the hook. "What? Oh. Leg irons, Sir. We're all chained . . . so we . . . I'm not really sure why . . . it's ok. They don't hurt or anything." Heero ducked his head so the judge wouldn't see him smirk.

Duo took exception for a second, until Heero managed to pinch him. Wufei had caught a good look at Heero's face when he turned his head, so he kept silent too.

"They . . . don't . . . I'm making some calls. A lot of calls. You're only seventeen and this is . . . it's. . . " The judge stopped sputtering and walked away.

Duo mock swooned. "Oh, my god, Heero made a funny. I'm . . . ack."

Heero caught Duo and shut him up by ruthlessly kissing him breathless. Wufei looked on in amused delight. He realized that they were putting on quite a show for everyone around, but when he glanced at the bystanders, most of them were either ignoring the goings-on or looking on with interest. When he glared at a few they all turned around and minded their own business.

Duo pushed Heero away and squatted to examine the irons. When he saw the bar up the side of Heero's leg, he poked it, then ran his fingers over the strap fastened under Heero's knee.

"Humm. Not bad. Mild steel?" Duo looked up at Heero with a grin. "Like that strap arrangement. Get blisters?"

Heero pulled Duo up and twined fingers with him. "No. Come on. We're done eating, so I better get back to work. Come with me. I'll see if Mr. Anderson will let you work with us. I'm sure he will. He's very nice actually." At Wufei's inquiring look he explained. "He's the man with the plate. He let me come to see you."

When they got to the chain gang, Sheriff Haskins was just getting ready to come looking for Heero. Heero introduced Wufei and Duo, then asked if they could work with him. The sheriff eyed them for a second, then just nodded. "Sure. Why not. You boys think you can keep up?"

Heero snickered at the sheriff and handed Duo a scythe. "You know how to use that, don't you?"

Duo took an experimental swing then nodded. "Yeah. Glad to be using it on plants though."

Wufei volunteered to run water for the men, giving them much needed liquid without having to walk to the cooler for it.

Evan watched Duo work for a minute and smiled. Heero followed him, and Evan followed them; the mowing was done in less than twenty minutes. The two worked in tandem like they'd done it all their lives. *It's good to be back in harness with him, we make such a good team.*

After they finished mowing, Duo suggested that he take Heero and Evan to help him clean up after the lunch. While many of the people there were conscientious about their paper, others weren't so considerate, so there was quite a bit of litter.

Heero efficiently rounded up the litter bags and pick sticks; Evan, Wufei and Duo took them and they split up. Duo watched as Heero walked off with a peculiar shuffling gait, forced on him by the leg irons. He sighed and started on his apportioned section of the park. It took him several minutes to fill the carry sack; while he was emptying it, he took a minute to watch Heero moving. He was worried about those leg irons; he didn't want Heero hurting even if he was permitting it.

Heero felt eyes on him and looked up to see Duo standing by a dumpster watching him. He waved slightly and nodded. Duo smiled at him, finished emptying his carry sack and went back to work. He wanted to be with Duo, but he had responsibilities, so he went back to work stuffing papers and other refuse into the sack.

Mr. Anderson found Heero nearly to the other end of the park. He'd gone in search of him when he realized that he couldn't see him.

"You ok? "

Heero smiled at Mr. Anderson; he hadn't intended to get this far from the other members of the work crew, but Duo had handed out the assignments without worrying about anything except getting the job done.

"Yeah, I"m fine. Where's Evan? He was assigned the plot behind me."

"Evan's done with his section. Some kids helped him out. I'm just checking up to see if you're ok. You need anything? That Chang kid, he's been watching you. You ok with him?"

Heero continued to work as they talked. "I'm fine with Wufei. He is one of my best friends. Along with Trowa and Quatre. We served together."

Mr. Anderson sighed. "Yeah, I know about that now. We've got a problem. You're not supposed to be at Fitzroy. Lucky for you a court order came through. But you're . . . I'm damned if I can get it through my head your Oh One. Wow. And those . . . friends of yours?"

Heero poked a piece of rubbish with the pick stick and put it in the bag.

"My friends are all pilots too. One . . . here. Put this in the recycling bin, will you?"

Mr. Anderson took the can and walked over to the big, concrete inclosed bin. As he tossed the can into the bin, he heard a pop. Then another. Then Heero hit him square in the back, swearing softly.

"Damn. Where's the shooter? I . . . .fuck. . . there. . .there he is."

Heero peeked around the bin again and realized the shots were coming from a nearby bank. There were three men standing in the door, obviously guarding it; one security man was down on the sidewalk, the other was running for cover.

Mr. Anderson ran out with his gun in his hand and tried to give some cover fire, but he was a prison guard and didn't really know what he was doing. So, instead of covering the security guard, all he did was get himself shot. In the leg, but still, he was shot and down in the open.

Heero reached down and simply twisted the link from the chain to the anklet, opening it. Then he did the same to the other side. He stuffed the chain in his pocket and scrambled out to haul Mr. Anderson behind the bin.

"Stupid. What did you think you were doing? Give me that."

Heero took Mr. Anderson's pistol. "I'm not escaping but I'm not going to hide here and let this happen." Heero looked at Mr. Anderson's leg then yelled "Medic! Medic! Man down here."

An EMT skidded up to them and started checking Heero over. He pushed him off grunting, "Him. I'm just smeared with his."

Suddenly Heero snarled as he was grabbed from behind.

"Ro. You shot? Where? What's goin' on here? Where . . ."

Heero rolled over under Duo's hand and gave him the low down quickly. Ending, "We got to find out what's going on. Who's in that bank and why."

"Bank? Why . . . holy fucking hell in a basket. Quatre and Trowa are in that bank. Fuck."

Heero growled. Duo swore some more.

Mr. Anderson tried to get Heero to give him back his gun, and was told, "This is what I trained for all my life. Two of my friends are in that bank and I'm not leaving until I know that they are safe, or someone shoots me. You're wounded, so you're out of the equation. I'm not escaping, I said. But I'm not hanging around while a bunch of cops screw this up."

Duo grumbled then just lifted the medic's radio, retuned it, and listened to the exchange over the police band.

"Ok ‘Ro. Dozen perps tried to rob the bank but it's Saturday and there's not more than twenty thou in the till. So they took the board room. They're making demands. You know that no department worth its pay is going to do more than put them off while they get SWAT in."

Duo listened intently, watching as Mr. Anderson was taken to an ambulance. He'd had to argue for all of a second with the medic. His icy glare, combined with Heero's even icier one, had convinced the man to just give up, get his patient into the ambulance, and go away.

Heero put his head against Duo's, pressing his ear to the outside of the ear piece so he could hear too.

The dispatcher was calm, but you could tell that something was wrong; there was a special intensity in her voice. Duo groaned. Heero just got up and headed for the large pavilion.

"Heero what are you gonna do? You. . . we. . . they won't."

Heero turned, slid his hand into the hair at the back of Duo's neck, and kissed him. "We are going to go and offer our help. We're their only hope. If they don't accept, we'll do it anyway. Wufei can coordinate." At Duo's skeptical look he growled, "It's the right thing to do. Even if it does blow the last of our cover. I'm busted but good, so ‘blaze of glory' and all that."

Duo gave Heero a horrified look.

"What?"

"Blaze of glory implies that you intend to die. You better not. You get yourself killed and I'll come after you."

"Yeah I know, they don't call you Shinigami for nothing. I don't intend to die in this. I intend to live a good long time and be a pain in your ass all the while."

" . . . so . . . are we going to do this or stand here chit-chatting all day."

Heero gave Duo a shake and led the way to the pavilion where the Chief of Police had set up a command station.

As they walked up, a cop tried to stop them but, faced with twin glares, he turned to get orders and they just slipped right by him.

Wufei was already there with a displeased scowl on his face. He looked like he wanted to bite or something.

"What's the what."

"No SWAT; that's what."

Duo blinked at Wufei. That look wasn't just for no SWAT. "And . . . .?"

"Trowa and Quatre are in there. That's the bank Quatre was trying to get the loan from. The . . ."

The Chief interrupted them telling them they'd have to go back to their parents and be evacuated with the rest of the civilians. Sheriff Haskins just stood behind him and stifled his snickers with a hand.

Heero raised an eyebrow. Obviously the sheriff knew exactly who they were and was waiting for the blowup.

A Com. Spec. came up and interrupted without apology. "We're screwed. They're on maneuvers. They're clear up at Hempstead. Socked in to boot. Got in touch with Preventers. Commander Une says that we have experts right here. Says to get some guy named Heero Winner-Yuy out of Fitzroy and Quatre Raberba Winner, let them pick their own team and just get out of the way. She sounds really pissed.. . . so Chief, what you wanna do?"

"Find Winner. Ask him what he needs. If Anna Une says jump, I just jump and hope it's high enough."

Duo managed not to laugh by facial contortions that looked nearly spastic. Then he changed subtly but definitely. Heero tensed slightly and went from a calm, polite boy to a hard, capable soldier in the blink of an eye. Wufei smirked slightly and did the same.

"Sir, I'm afraid that you're not going to be able to get in touch with Mr. Winner. He's in the bank in question. Board meeting. He's right in the thick of it."

"And who are you?"

Wufei bowed. "Chang Wufei. I'll be coordinating the operation in place of Winner. If you have any doubts as to my credentials call Une. Tell her 03 and 04 are hostages; 01, 02, and 05 are on site and ready to take over the operation with your permission. We'll wait."

Heero sighed. This was going to be a real pain in the ass. Duo was looking around with an eye for the equipment available. Not much so far, but hopefully there was something useful arriving soon.

Some nearby Officers looked askance at the boys who were calmly taking over the command center and wondered if the Chief had lost his mind. But others were settling down to receive orders from Gundam pilots. *Hot damn.*

The Chief took the phone from the CS and spoke for a moment, then he listened for quite a while. After speaking again, he listened, turning whiter and whiter as he did so. Then he turned to Wufei and looked at him hard. Wufei looked back calmly, then the Chief turned to Heero and Duo and looked them over just as hard.

"I'll be dipped in shit and fried. You're all Gundam pilots?" At Heero's nod, he just shuddered. "You boys are the ones that used to make me wake up in a cold sweat. Shit and double shit. . . . Well." The Chief turned to the crew and announced, "We got game. These innocent seeming juvies are Gundam pilots. All three of them. The other two are hostages in the bank. Hold your hats."

Duo eyed the man for a moment. "OK, what's the catch?"

"No catch. I just got my ass ate out royally by Une and Lucrezia Noin bit a chunk out of what's left. You boys got props from so high up, I nearly got nose bleed. I only got one thing to say. Those professors ought to be arrested and shot."

Heero, who'd been examining the set up, turned his head and grinned ferally at him. "I believe they were."

It was soon discovered that there was no equipment available. The swat team had taken most of it with them.

Duo was incensed. "You mean you only have one swat team and they're all on maneuvers at the same time?"

The chief gave him an exasperated look. "Yeah, one team and they go on maneuvers together. What do you expect? This is a small city. We're way down the list for financing and new technology. We're lucky to have one team. Just tell me what you need and we'll see what we can do."

Heero, Duo and Wufei got together, discussed, and cussed, what they'd need, and gave the chief a list. He looked at it and blinked. "A note book computer? And . . . what the hell is a slick stick."

Duo grunted. "A game controller. I use it as a joy stick for the cameras, saves trying to do it by keystroke. Get on it, will ya? Time's a'wastin'."

"What cameras?"

Duo rolled his eyes, this was getting harder by the second. None of them were used to having to answer a million questions. "Will you get off my back, it's distracting and I'm workin' at a disadvantage here."

"What disadvantage? Tell me what equipment you need . . ."

"I really need my old computer. The software is already written but we don't have time to send for it. I'll just have to rewrite it from memory. Wufei, I need . . . oh." Duo examined the computer and nodded. "Good. It'll more than do. How'd you come up with it so fast?"

Wufei just pointed to Mrs. Campbell. She was standing at the side of the pavilion, nodding at them. "It's hers. She said if you wreck it, it's ok. Just save the hostages. She's staying as negotiator. Surprisingly the chief says she's really good."

Duo sat down with the computer and grumbled; he'd rather have a bat* than the keyboard. But beggars couldn't be choosers. Then he started typing, his fingers flying over the keys.

While Duo was entering his programs, Heero and Wufei got other computers, borrowed from the chief himself and from the Com. Spec. Heero started gathering blue prints and floor plans while Wufei tried to find some equipment

"Ha! Gotcha!" Duo's exclamation brought several people to look over his shoulder which nearly caused a riot as he jumped several inches and nearly punched the man who'd put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't touch me. You wanna get wasted? Get offa me, go back to your jobs and be ready."

Heero had twitched when he saw the crowd around Duo but settled back to his work when he realized that they were just nosey. Now he watched the feed of floor plans and sighed. This was going to be harder that he liked. The whole damn floor was bomb proofed. *Fuck.*

"Ok what we got, boss man."

"Maxwell, do not call me boss man. We've got to show these people that we're disciplined. Not a bunch of show off kids."

"Sure, we're gonna impress a bunch of cops with our expertise. Gimme a break."

Heero snarled, "Arm or leg. Stop fooling around. You into the bank security system yet? Cameras?"

"Yeah. Board room is full of them and the lobby. Halls not so much, but enough that we can track everyone in the building. Not much going on. Just about everyone is out. A few stragglers trying to avoid the sweeper team. And that team isn't much. They're a bunch of wanna be's."

Wufei thought for a few moments and looked worried.

The chief had to put in his bit. "Wanna be's can be more dangerous than the real thing. They don't really know what they're doing so they panic and that's bad. They shoot when they shouldn't, and don't when they should. Could be to our disadvantage."

Heero nodded distracted. "Floor plan shows we got bomb proofing. You know how good it is? I can't find the spec's . And weapons . . . we need. . ."

"Explosives. That's what. And . . . damn. . . if I had Scythe, this would be . . ."

"A major disaster. You're the most destructive force around, short of Yuy, or a typhoon." Wufei frowned at the blue prints. "No help there. You won't fit into the vents. Too small."

No one questioned the fact that an entire department of adults was allowing three teenagers to take over without question. Lady Une was a force to be reckoned with herself, and anyone who'd been on the receiving end of one of her scathing putdowns was more than eager to avoid another. If she said they could do it, they could.

"Shit. Well, looks like we do it the hard way. I've got a roundup. I'll mark the locations on the prints and we can plan something."

Duo took the floor plans and marked the location of all the visible personnel; there were more than enough men to keep control of eight business men. Unless two of them were teen age terrorists. (Sorry, ex-Terrorists.)

Wufei looked at them and asked for a larger set of plans for the board room. When he got them, he had Duo mark where each man was.

"Any hope of any of these guys being useful?" Wufei looked at the chief who just shook his head. "Didn't think so. Will any of them . . . turn their coats?"

"No, they never fought, but they all know that giving in to these men will only prolong the problem. They'll be cooperative in that they won't cause trouble, but if you're thinking that they'll turn over your friends, no. They won't do that. But don't rely on them for more than that."

"Good enough. If Quatre and Trowa don't get busted, we have a better chance." Wufei turned back to the plans and muttered under his breath as he tried to plan an assault on a third floor meeting room, without proper equipment.

"We need explosives or. . . . A fucking Gundam would be really . . . " Duo got a funny look on his face at the same time Wufei exclaimed in Mandarin.

After some consultation and a few minutes spent watching the board room, they made plans as best they could without any way to get information to Quatre and Trowa. All they could do was hope that they reacted the right way.

Duo went over the plans one last time and wished vocally for some explosives.

"Damnit. I could make some if I had time, but I don't want to take the time to do it safely and I'm not blowin' my head off for nobody. Fuck. . . . well. Make do. ‘Ro, saddle up."

Heero nodded to Duo and went to get some equipment. The sheriff, meanwhile, had rounded up everything on the list that Wufei had given him.

"Here, boy. I . . . I don't believe that a boy as polite as you is a terrorist."

Heero accepted the arms and armor with a smile. "Just because I'm going to kill you there's no reason to be rude as well. Odin Lowe despised that sort of behavior. I don't see any need to be rude either."

While he'd been speaking, Heero was donning the armor and checking Duo's as well. When he was through, he checked Duo over and Duo returned the favor. The armor was light and fairly comfortable; the weapons were standard assault rifles and hand guns.

Then Duo pitched in the kicker. He headed for the construction site where the mobile construction suit was stored. On the way he ran into Judge Randolph.

"Hey, Your Honor, you just watch. I'll show you how destructive even a construction mobile can be in the hands of someone who's certifiable." He turned to Heero who was following close behind. "Come on, we need to get moving."

"Who's the one who's gossiping?" Heero grinned at the Judge on the way by.

Judge Randolph gazed after two boys who were about to risk their lives, laughing, and wondered.

Duo climbed into the suit and reached down to give Heero a hand up onto the suit's shoulder, where he settled close against the head.

Duo waited until the assault team Wufei had assembled was in position, then he walked out into the sun, the mobile gleaming in the bright glare.

~ * ~

Trowa cuddled Quatre making soft crooning sounds. The invaders had burst into the room guns out and pointed at the executives. Their demands were outrageous and impossible to fulfill. So they had gone on the defensive.

Quatre had played the scared boy with Trowa as ‘big brother.' Their excuse was that they were observers from the local high school. None of the board members had busted them; why, Trowa wasn't sure, but he was grateful none the less. Their cover was clear for now.

He'd managed to dial 911 on his cell and they had it between their bodies where, hopefully, the dispatcher could hear what was going on in the room. He hadn't taken the chance of checking because he didn't want to take the chance that one of the men would notice.

When he saw the mobile through the window, he nearly laughed out loud. Quatre felt him stiffen and managed a look out the window too. They both readied themselves for whatever was going to happen. There was no reason for a construction mobile to be off the site, much less walking around city streets.

Duo drew back his ‘fist' and smashed the windows, then put the hand flat on the floor. Heero slid down the arm, and landed rolling and firing.

He took out two men with snap shots he'd lined out while he was sliding. Quatre snapped up a sliding pistol and took out one, Trowa blocked a physical attack from their side and looked around for further threats.

Duo popped the hatch and followed Heero down the arm into the room. He'd had to take time to set the suit's gyros to hold it upright. He just hoped the batteries were strong enough to hold until he could get back to it. He didn't want it to fall on someone.

"Shit. Heero, you could have saved one for me you know."

Heero smirked at Duo. While he was busy with the suit, this whole phase of the operation was over. Trowa and Quatre were mopping up while Heero watched the door. Duo took over from Heero and, at Trowa's direction, he dug the cell out of the couch and spoke to the dispatcher then hung up.

Duo handed the two ex-hostages radios and then searched the newly captured criminals for guns, ammo, or any other useful items. He rounded up ID from some of them and sneered.

"God, could these guys be anymore hopeless? Here, Trowa, zip cuffs all round. Oh, and I'll see that the board guys get stashed."

Duo suited actions to words and got the men into an inner room, instructing them to lock the door and not come out until they were called on the phone. Then he shut the door and forgot all about them.

They gathered in the board room and surveyed the situation. Quatre got in contact with Wufei who was leading the external assault team. They spoke for a few moments, then Quatre snickered softly.

He turned around and took a second to hug Heero murmuring softly, "Hey, there. Long time no see." Trowa just smirked at him and turned to the door.

They coordinated their assaults. Wufei started a distraction outside; Heero and Trowa leapfrogged down the hall while Quatre checked rooms and Duo backed him up. They made it to the mezzanine without incident.

Wufei's frontal assault had drawn all the assailants to the lobby.

That assault was mostly for show as the locked front doors were bullet proof and the assault shield made it impossible to make a straight attack on the lobby.

Duo muttered, "Great defense if you don't let the robbers in the front door yourself. Now . . . " He kissed Heero and laughed maniacally. "I get to blow shit up."

"Huh?"

"Construction site equals demolitions equals C4, and other neat stuff. " Duo fiddled with a ball of plastique and then dropped it. "We got three. . . . . two . . . . . one. . . . "

The explosion smashed the doors open and a flood of men poured in through the doors only to run into withering fire from the still-standing men who'd taken cover behind the cashier's stations.

Quatre frantically snarled into his radio only to be told that Wufei had been relieved of command by some hotshot. The chief shouted him down and returned command to Wufei, but too late for several men who were shot in the assault. Wufei got control, and a quick conference with Quatre got things back on track.

Heero stuck his head up, then Duo did the same. Trowa moved to another part of the mezzanine and got a good look; they compared notes and Quatre organized them.

Calling for another assault, he gave directions to the others. They set themselves, and when the next attack came, Heero slid down the railing, firing and reloading on the fly. Duo followed targeting carefully, with Quatre and Trowa bringing up the rear, mopping up anyone who was still resisting.

Not many were. In fact, several men who were not only not wounded but still in possession of weapons, surrendered, throwing themselves flat on the floor, spreadeagled.

Heero grunted. He'd known there was a chance of this happening. On that last roll, he'd landed hard and broken his ankle.

Quatre looked around and shouted, "Status."

"On point."

"Taking side."

"Down."

"Fuck!" Duo took a second to glance at Heero, who had stayed sitting on the floor. He didn't see any blood, so he turned back to the point position, keeping his weapon pointed at the assembled prisoners.

Trowa, as side, was searching them and kicking weapons out of reach. Wufei entered the doors and marshaled his troops to take over the arrest, then he went to Heero.

"What happened?"

"Broke that weak ankle. Got some duct tape?"

"No. Got a medic."

Duo came over to sit by Heero and hold his hand. Trowa and Quatre both ran interference, sidetracking everybody away from the two lovers.

When the medics got there, Wufei triaged the scene, assigning numbers to the wounded. One's went first, then two's, etc. He assigned Heero an eight.

Quatre was on the phone making arrangements for Heero at the hospital, while Trowa fended off reporters.

Duo had helped Heero move to sit on the stairs and had rounded up a couple of sodas. So they were sitting drinking soda, and enjoying some time together. Duo eyed the shackles around Heero's ankles and sighed.

"Don't have a pick. You wanna put that chain back on? Or are you busted on that too."

"I'm busted, but it doesn't make any difference. They're not going to send me back to Fitzroy, or to Hellcreek, with this ankle. It's bad."

"Hurt much?"

"No more than any other broken bone."

Heero leaned into Duo, taking in his smell, the feel of his muscled chest under his cheek and storing it up in his memory.

Duo held him and wished he never had to let go.

Finally, Sheriff Haskins got to them. When he saw Heero, he just sighed.

"Boy, what now?"

"Broke my weak ankle. They'll transport me soon. I'm not bleeding out or anything, so I'm last on the list. It's ok. I get to spend more time with my friends." Heero introduced the sheriff around.

After shaking hands and greeting all around, the sheriff nodded to the traffic jam outside.

"If you're good to go, I could take you in my car. It's outside that mess. What do you say?"

Heero looked at Quatre, who just shrugged and said it could be several hours. He recommended taking the offer as the sooner Heero got on regen, the better. He admitted he'd made arrangements with the hospital for him to have a private room.

Duo looked at the sheriff and liked what he saw, so he didn't protest when the sheriff lifted Heero in his arms and started off with him. Wufei put an arm around Duo and Trowa hugged Quatre. Heero held Duo's hand until the last minute then they both slowly let their arms drop.

"Boy, this is getting to be a habit."

Heero chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess it is. We got to quit meeting like this."

~ * ~

A bat, or cording keyboard is a one handed keyboard that some of us covet. You only need one hand to type. I'm interested in a frogpad myself.