Wufei followed one of his guards into the prison, followed by the other. He was led straight to an intake room, but the search was superficial at best. Wufei couldn't help his tiny sigh of relief. He hadn't been happy at the thought of a full body cavity search. Heero's description had been graphic and rather intimidating. And he didn't want them finding his transmitter.

"Come on, kid. Boss wanted us to do a complete body cavity search, but I'm not much on SA on a kid. First the Boss then we're going to the Dump."

Wufei wondered what the Dump was and what SA was. He thought about it as they headed for wherever they were going. He decided that SA had to be sexual assault. He thanked his ancestors that the men weren't perverts.

As Wufei walked, he realized that he was surrounded by very large men. Some had Oz tattoos. Others were just thugs. He shuddered once then suppressed the urge ruthlessly. He didn't have time to have a fit, and his aversion therapy was kicking in nicely. He shuffled along, doing his best to keep up with the tall men. Their longer legs made it difficult, especially as his stride was shorted by nearly a foot.

"Hey, keep up." The man grabbed Wufei by one arm and hauled him along.

"Ralph, man, take it easy. The boy's in leg irons. And he's shorter than the shortest of us by at least eight inches." Ralph gave Wufei a look then subsided, grumbling.

They made it to the warden's office without further incident, although Wufei did get a sharp poke for looking around too much. He kept his head down but got as good a look around as he could. The walls were unguarded. All the towers empty. The gates were relocked however.

When he entered the outer office, he was greeted by a man who rose from the secretary's desk he bowed slightly in recognition of his status then just stood waiting.

The man who was not Ralph dumped the confiscated contents of his pockets onto the desk top. "That's the lot of it. Not much he can't keep."

The secretary type nudged things around with one finger. Wufei's pockets had yielded, one folding knife, a pen, a small spiral notebook, his wallet, a handkerchief, and some small change. Wufei was given back all but the knife. Ralph shoved it all into one thigh pocket and nudged him toward the door to the inner office.

Not-Ralph knocked, opened the door and stepped in. Wufei followed him careful not to trip on the transition from the uncarpeted outer office to the carpeted inner one. He took one look at the Boss and sighed. He knew this man, the psycho was a convicted war criminal ... A real one.

"Hello, Isaiah."

"Chang Wufei. You know that our demands aren't being met." It wasn't a question.

Wufei shifted from one foot to the other. "Yes. This display of cooperativeness may have a good effect. Send out some demands and see what happens. Just make them something half way reasonable."

Isaiah nodded. He walked around the desk and checked Wufei's bonds by pulling on the belt and the chains. He wasn't rough, or gentle, just matter of fact.

"Made for you?"

Wufei nodded. "I'm too small for regular irons. They just fall off."

"Rules, no unnecessary talking. No ... well, I don't think I need to tell you not to touch Miss Peacecraft, but hands off. Don't cause any trouble. If you do, I'll have you punished. But enough of that. If you don't cause any trouble, you won't get hurt. We'll all be done with this and gone soon. Take him to the Dump."

Wufei relaxed, he'd expected much worse.

Then Ralph spoke up. "Boss, you ain't gonna soften him up any?"

Isaiah just shook his head. "There's no softening him up. I've seen what he can endure. None of us have that in us, and I won't allow a rape. Get him out of here. And keep your hands to yourselves." He turned to look at Wufei. "If anyone gets fresh, you have my permission to remove body parts, without repercussions."

Wufei remembered, Isaiah was a holy warrior' he considered himself to be chosen by god to bring unity and peace to the colonies. Under his rule. And he wasn't particular about how he got it, except for that one vice. And he didn't use torture just for the fun of it. He always had a goal in sight.

Not-Ralph led Wufei away, motioning to another man to come with him. They left Ralph arguing with Isaiah.

.

The Dump turned out to be an interior room, deep inside the lower levels of the prison. It was dismal and rather dank. Relena was sitting on one of the four cots there looking a little worse for wear and a bit tearful.

When Wufei stumbled in the door, having been given a rather rough shove by the door guard, she jumped to her feet and threw her arms around him. He refrained from snapping at her by main force of will.

"Chang Wufei, are you all right. Did they hurt you? And why are you chained? I don't like this.

Wufei grabbed the last rags of his patience with both hands. "Stop that. I'm fine. I'm not hurt. The transports are one of the stipulations to getting everyone else out. And I'm not really thrilled either."

Wufei sat down on another cot and sighed. At least he was still chained. He'd actually been afraid that they'd remove them, separating him from his lifeline. Heero had consulted with Winchester and they'd decided that the possibility was small but there. He was disgusted when Relena pounded on the door, yelling for the guard.

"Hey! You! Come in here and unchain him. You listening to me?"

Wufei struggled back to his feet and grabbed her.

"Damn stupid onna. Have you lost your mind?"

"But ... they should ... don't you want to be unchained?"

Wufei realized the futility of explaining to Relena, she wasn't stupid by any means but he was sure that this was beyond her comprehension.

"That's neither here nor there. I really don't what someone to come in here and take a belt to me. Or you. If you push them too far, we're both in trouble. They're not getting what they expected to and it's making them desperate. Now, sit down, shut up and let me work this out."

Relena bit at her lip for a moment then sighed. "Wufei ... May I call you Wufei?" Wufei just nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid that this has worn on my last nerve. I'm not acting rationally. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'll do my best to help you."

Wufei settled back on the cot. The chains were wearing on him already. He'd hoped that the terrorists would free his hands and leave the rest. They'd left them all.

Just then, a man entered with two trays of food.

"Here. Eat. Got twenty minutes."

Relena picked up her fork immediately and started to eat. "You better eat. They mean it."

Wufei shrugged. "I'll pass. I can't feed myself. Unless you'll do it."

Relena blinked at him, fork between her lips. She pulled the fork from between her lips, chewed and swallowed. "I ... well, you can't, can you?"

Wufei gave her a disgusted look. "I can. You put food in my mouth and I chew and swallow. I'd really rather not go hungry ... unless you feel it's beneath your dignity."

Relena shook her head. "No, I just ... well ... I've never fed anyone before. I'm sorry to be so stupid but I'm out of my depth here."

Wufei shook his head. "I'll tell you what to do. Hurry and finish."

Relena did and managed to do a fair job of feeding Wufei. She got a little gravy on his chin but other than that she did quite well.

A different man came to get the tray.

.

After the tray was gone, Wufei went back to his cot. He lay back and got his feet onto the cot, chains rattling. Relena puttered in the background.

"Let me wash your face." Relena held a dripping wash rag in one hand and a bar of soap in the other. She looked determined and hesitant.

Wufei rolled his head on the thin pillow. "Very well. Take the cloth back to the sink and wring it out, I don't like it that wet."

Relena willingly did as she was told. Never let it be said that she hired an expert and then didn't at least listen to them. She returned with the cloth and waited for Wufei to tell her what else to do.

"Sit on the side of the cot and lean over. You have to be able to see what you're doing."

Relena gave Wufei a puzzled look but did as she was told. Wufei took advantage of her position to fill her in on what was going on. She straightened up, went back to the sink and rinsed out the cloth. When she returned to Wufei, she wiped the soap off his face and hissed in his ear, "Are you crazy? They're going to use us as leverage to try to force the World Council to give them a colony. They're so unrealistic I can't believe it. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff they're asking for. Tons of money. Caviar. Champagne. Just bizarre."

Wufei realized that they were in, as Duo would say, shit up to our chin.'

"Well, that's what I'm here for. We're going to get you out of here without granting them any more concessions."

"How?"

Wufei rolled his head away from Relena's incessant wiping. "Not sure yet. Now, go put that way. And babble at me for a little."

So Relena put the wash rag on the edge of the sink and returned to sit on her bunk next to Wufei and babble at him. Wufei twitched incessantly, picking at his clothing and hair, flicking his fingers around. Relena just rambled. None of the men watching from the camera high on the wall understood that Wufei had just filled Relena in on everything that was going on.

He'd thought Duo was out of his mind when he'd taught the war sign to Relena. She'd found it amusing and spent the whole of one rainy day learning. Wufei smiled in remembrance of that visitation day. They'd all wound up at the country club' prison at the same time and spent the day together. Now he was glad of her persistence and Duo's patience.

When he was finished, he felt like he was fifty years old. He was tired and it was only the middle of the morning. He just hoped that the terrorists had kept their end of the bargain. He'd seen the men standing around but he hadn't actually seen them set free.

"Do you think they really let all those people go?"

Relena patted him on the thigh. "Yes. They were complaining about how hard it was to keep them all under control. They locked the place down but they still had to feed everyone. So ... yes, I'm sure they let them go. Their only other option was to kill them and they knew that that wouldn't endear them to anyone. So ... Your sacrifice wasn't in vain."

"Good. Now ... if you don't mind, I'm going to try to meditate for a while."

Relena just shook her head. "That's ok. They'll be bringing me my paper soon. And a new book. I'll be quiet and read."

"Thank you"

Wufei set himself to meditate while Relena sat by the door to wait for her paper.

.

Zechs sat at the listening station and waited for Wufei to go into his meditation. While he was meditating, he was also going to send in his first report. It was too dangerous for him to just talk, someone might figure out what they were up to. He knew a very old form of radio code called Morris. The tiny transmitter in his leg irons had a key' imbedded in it. Zechs was determined not to miss a letter. They were going to record it but Zechs was proficient in Morris code too and he was going to transcribe it immediately.

The rescued' prisoners had all been debriefed and sent to another facility, most of the regular communications crew were just standing around staring in awe, but of course one of them had to be a geek of amazing stupidity. The beeping of the communicator was just so odd.

"Here. Let me adjust this. It'll eliminate that beeping and bring in the signal." The man reached over Zechs's shoulder. Even Heero wasn't fast enough to save him. The crack of his arm breaking was loud enough to be heard in the street.

Zechs didn't even miss a letter. He finished his transcription and turned. "If anyone touches that equipment, I'll break both their arms and all ten fingers. Do you understand me?" The look on Zechs's face would have frozen anyone in their tracks. Everyone nodded, someone helped the idiot out and things went back to what passed for normal.

Sheriff Haskins reaction to Zechs breaking his comm officer's arm was to tell his deputy to have the man's desk cleaned out.

Zechs shared his information with the others. Heero knew Isaiah too and just sighed.

"See what Winchester thinks we can send them. If we send in something, Isaiah will get the idea that he has a chance. Put him off his guard. If Wufei can figure out where they are in relation to the main gate, we have a chance. If not. .. I don't know what we'll do."

Duo showed his distress by yanking on his braid until Heero caught his hand and just held it.

"He has to find some way to see the rest of the outer wall. I don't think there are any guards but we have to be sure. The cameras on the outer wall are monitored. We know that." Heero nodded.

Zechs chewed on the end of his braid for a moment then continued. "We have to find some way to get close without attracting their attention. Wufei says that the Dump is in the lower levels, maybe even under ground. That's not good at all. They need to be above ground and preferably somewhere on the second or third floor with big windows. That puts them in the infirmary, library or warden's office. How they're going to convince the Rock gang to do that is beyond me. Especially if Isaiah is as crazy as I think he is."

Heero rubbed the back of his neck. "Last I knew, he was on some kind of religious kick, jihad or something like it. He wants to return the colonies to pre-Alliance economic status and keep the political quid pro quo. Man's an idiot with a mission." Heero poked Duo in the side. "Do not say it."

Duo gave Heero his best wide-eyed innocent look. "Who me? Wouldn't dream of it. You were never unreasonable, just unwavering. If I had the data, you were easy to convince. This guy sounds like he's got a mission from god. Not the sort of person you can talk out of much of anything. I still don't understand some of his demands. Don't make sense. And that scares me."

Zechs rubbed his forehead. "I think some of the odd ones were just to placate the mob of hangers on and peripherals, the money and a few other things are for real. Not a one of their demands are reasonable, realistic nor doable. We might manage some champagne and caviar. We'll just have to see what Winchester and his crew come up with."

After some general grumbling, they all went their separate ways. Zechs back to the listening post and Heero and Duo to the N-Gundams to make sure that they were familiar with the controls and that the mecha were battle ready.

.

Wufei clutched at his stomach and bit back a moan. Relena couldn't help but notice that Wufei was in pain.

"Chang? What's wrong?" Relena leaned over him and kept her voice down.

"Indigestion. It's getting worse. The stress I suppose."

Relena, more acquainted with stomach problems than she liked, many of the men she dealt with had ulcers, snarled. "Indigestion my ass. Do you have anything?"

Wufei shook his head. "No. I didn't think it was wise to bring any powders. Some idiot might try to snort it."

"Well, if they did, they'd get what they deserved. I'll bang on the door and see if they won't bring something."

Wufei caught Relena's wrist to keep her still. "No. Don't. They'll only take it as a sign of weakness. We can't afford it. We have to put up a strong front. I'll be ok in a few minutes."

"What about milk? It's supposed to help."

Wufei sighed. "Lactose intolerant. I have stuff I take before Maxwell hauls us off to the ice cream parlor. But I don't have any of that either."

Relena bit at her lip. "Well, boogers." Wufei couldn't help his snicker. "Stop that. I'm trying to think. We have to get you out of here sooner than I expected. Fiddle-dee-dee."

Wufei decided that his best bet was to try to sleep a little. One of these attacks left him feeling lethargic. He'd try to figure out a way to see more of the prison when he woke up.

.

Relena wasn't stupid, no one in her position could be. Her naturally optimistic outlook made her seem somewhat wide-eyed and young, however, like Quatre, she could be completely ruthless when she needed to be. In this instance she knew that Wufei was suffering from more than indigestion and started making some plans accordingly, some of them very long term.

She watched over Wufei as she did. The knock on the door followed by one of the trustees opening it and handing her the paper woke Wufei who raised his head then let it drop back down when he recognized the man as Not-Ralph. He realized that he couldn't keep referring to the man by that name.

"Who is that?"

Relena replied absently as she scanned the social page. "Him? ... um ... his name is Kurt. He's fairly nice. I don't think he's really into this mess. His brother is one of the higher ups. Why?"

Wufei settled more comfortably in the cot. "He was nice to me. I'd like to put in a good word for him."

"That's nice ... would you like the sports page?"

Wufei didn't like sports, couldn't hold the paper if he did and said so, then he had to apologize for snapping at Relena. She just shrugged and said, "Well, you're under a lot of strain. Don't worry. Would you like me to read to you? I could read the newest article about this. It's rather interesting."

Wufei said he'd like that and drowsed through Relena's reading, she had a remarkably soothing voice when she wasn't chasing Heero. Wufei realized that Relena had grown up while he wasn't watching, he couldn't remember the last time she'd made a pest of herself. In fact, the last few times he'd had much to do with her, she'd been visiting them at Zechs's house and been an excellent conversationalist.

When Relena finished reading the article Wufei grumbled, "I don't know who's been feeding them that shit. It's not anything like what they're saying. It's just our duty. To fight so that others don't have to is the way of a true warrior. Not the fighting, the fact that our sacrifice make's the lives of so many others safe, that's the true thrill' of victory as Duo would say. Now, I'd like to ask you some questions, but we need to figure out how to do that without alerting the Rock gang. Do you have any ideas?"

Relena shrugged. "Several, depending on how you feel about touching."

Wufei sighed softly, "Remember that I was married. Not for very long and we were young, but I've no objections to touching you in a friendly way."

Relena just stretched, yawned and then shivered. "I'm cold, and drowzy. Would you mind if I just lay beside you. I ... I really would like to just cuddle. They don't ... touch me. For which I'm grateful but I feel like I haven't had a hug in forever. Hugs are very important you know. So ..."

Wufei realized that, because they'd kept their voices down and their backs to the camera, the observers wouldn't realize exactly what they'd been saying. Relena's louder remarks explained why she was snuggling with him and that would allow them to talk without fear of compromising their plans.

He allowed Relena to settle against him, curling around her. His bound hands made it impossible for him to actually hug her but it was good enough. They talked softly for over an hour. Wufei knew that his transmitter was sensitive enough to pick up everything. He just hoped Relena knew enough to get them out of this quickly, his stomach was much worse and he was now sure that it was way more than indigestion.

. Zechs listened in on everything they said and took notes. He called Heero and Duo and shared everything he'd gotten. Heero bit at his lip. "Isaiah is a recruiter. He'll try to talk Wufei into joining them. Maybe we'll be able to get more intel then. I just hope Wufei doesn't lose his temper. If he starts one of his rants, we're done for. Or he'll get hell kicked out of himself. Depending on what he says."

Duo sighed. "And you were worried about me. Wuffers is all for justice and whatnot, and ain't afraid ta say so. Loudly, long and often. We got to figure a way to calm him down."

Heero shrugged. "Zechs can morse code him. That tingler' in the cuff isn't there for the fun of it." Heero turned to Zechs. "Make sure he's not somewhere where they'll notice. But tell him not to lose his temper."

Zechs nodded. "I'll see what I can do right now. They seem to be laying down on the same cot. Relena won't give us away and maybe she can provide some cover of some kind."

Zechs headed for the com tent while Heero and Duo started planning.

When he got to the tent Zechs let out a nearly soundless snarl. Heero's nemesis was there, trying to get into the tent. Mackie was dancing around in front of one of the Spec Ops people, demanding to be let into the tent. The SO was just shaking her head with a rather mean expression on her face.

Zechs walked up behind Mackie and announced in a fierce tone, "If you've even looked at that radio, I'll gut you, then turn the remains over to Maxwell." he looked at the SO. "Did he actually get in the tent?"

She snapped to attention and said, "Sir, yes sir! He did, sir. I was requested to remove him, sir. One incident was enough, sir."

Zechs stood completely still for one moment, then snarled, "Hold him here. If he's misaligned the frequencies, I'll tear him apart."

Zechs stormed into the tent and headed for the radio. Two deputies, who'd been more or less guarding the setup got out of his way. He checked the radio and sighed with relief. Mackie hadn't done more than turn off the emergency power supply which wasn't a big deal as the power hadn't failed. He settled down to send his message then he was going to see to Mackie.

Wufei made a quick blip-blip' reply to show that he'd gotten the message. Zechs relaxed slightly, there had been a slight chance that Mackie had managed to foul up the radio.

.

Relena wriggled her butt right in Wufei's groin. "Onna, stop that. What do you think you're doing?"

"Putting on a show so that they won't wonder why I'm going to my own bed." Relena whispered back. Wufei shoved her away gently and she got up to go to her cot. Wufei realized that he missed her warmth. He hadn't known he was a cuddler until Zechs remarked on it one morning.

Wufei settled wondering what time it was. He was going to suggest to the person that delivered supper that he might be amenable to persuasion. He hated looking like a turncoat but needs must' as his grandmother said.

The door opened just then, answering his internal question. Their supper was here.

"Thank you, my good man. Oh, could you ask if someone could at lest remove the chains from Mister Chang's wrists. I'm feeding him and it's a bit ... awkward. I'm not good at it and Mister Chang doesn't deserve to have to deal with this along with everything else."

Relena's bright eyed look didn't impress Kurt at all. "I'm sure I can ask. I'm also sure the answer will be no. He's too dangerous to be free. And, Mr. Chang, I'll be taking you to talk to the boss after you're done eating. Be ready."

Wufei blinked, Kurt didn't look happy and that wasn't good. He wondered how badly he was going to dislike his interview.

Relena fed him his supper, careful this time not to drip gravy all over. He was grateful for her help and said so. She was indignant on his behalf, declaring that they could at least show him some respect. He smiled grimly and replied that perhaps they were.

.

Isaiah let Wufei get settled in a fairly comfortable chair then started lecturing him. He listened with patience for a while then he tried to explain to Isaiah that all he was doing was stirring up old wounds. He wasn't listening. He explained that he was the one talking and Wufei would do well to listen. Wufei bowed slightly and settled back to ignore the man.

The slap across the face was as unpleasant as it was unexpected. Wufei glowered at Isaiah and refrained from comment. Instead he went back to ignoring him. Isaiah lectured for a while more then demanded, "You're not even listening to me. Why do you make me waste my breath?"

"If you're not interested in a meaningful dialogue, you are just wasting your breath. And my time. If you want to listen to what I have to say, I'll be glad to share, otherwise we're in a stand off. Now ... which is it to be."

Isaiah let his displeasure be known, in no uncertain terms. "That's it. Ralph, take him out and explain' to him that it's much better not to piss me off."

Ralph leered at Wufei and motioned to two men to bring Wufei. They grabbed him and he had to fight his natural instincts to fight. This was not the time to reveal that he could be free at need. He was too far away from Relena.

.

Zechs heard it all and nearly went mad. He could hear the blows, the grunts of pain, and the snickers of the men. He listened and remembered. He'd get even if it was the last thing he ever did. Thankfully, they did no more than beat Wufei.

.

Heero and Duo didn't know any thing about what was going on. They had left to go to the N- Gundams to check on them.

Heero mounted N-Wing and spent a while just adjusting his chair. The new chairs were much more comfortable than the old ones. They even lay out flat, sort of. If they were in space the chair could be made into a bed of sorts. There was also a lot more floor room, not a great deal more but more.

He turned his head as Duo tumbled into his cockpit, laughing. "Hey, Ro! Nice. I got a look last time but didn't have time to do more than peek. Very nice! Wanna break it in?"

Heero blinked for a second then got the idea. He leered at Duo and made a grab for him. Duo dodged him and they played ring-around-rosey around the pilots chair. Then Duo dodged the wrong way, right into heero's arms. Not that either one of them minded much. Duo snickered. "Got lube?" Heero produced a small tube from a pocket and laughed as Duo did the same.

"So what are we going to do for a bed? Or at least somewhere to get flat. Because I got to tell ya. I'm not too thrilled with locking my knees and hopin' the hell I don't fall over."

"Just watch." Heero opened a small locker and pulled out a sleeping bag which he put on the floor. "And there's wipes and TP, a bunch of camping gear, including a tent. You got the same, if you looked."

Duo settled on the bag. "Yeah, I was just going to try to lure you over, but this is just as good. Q thinks of everything. I've even got a water purifier."

Heero grunted, settled on the bag next to Duo and stretched out. "This is good. It's a bit tight for two, but plenty of room for one. Wouldn't want to camp out but not bad in an emergency. Scoot over a bit."

Duo obligingly scooted and Heero smirked at him, growled and pounced. Duo let out a very unmanly squawk when he blew a raspberry against his neck.

They laughed and wrestled around, rolling back and forth. Heero bumped his hip on the chair pedestle. Duo knocked his elbow on something. Neither of them minded a bit.

Heero methodically stripped Duo out of his clothing. He pulled off their boots and set them in an empty locker. Then he dragged Duo's t-shirt off over his head. He folded it then took off his own, folded that and set them aside. Duo watched with some amusement. Heero always got like this before a mission and trying to hurry him or change his methodical way only got them both annoyed. So he just let Heero have his way.

After placing the folded t-shirts in the pilots seat Heero returned to Duo who just opened his arms and smiled. Heero settled between Duo's open legs and started to kiss him. Duo wrapped his arms around Heero and replied to his kisses with delight. They hadn't had time for this in a while and he was looking forward to more than a quick cuddle.

Heero got up to his knees and wrestled his pants down to the deck plates, he sat back and managed to get them down to his ankles. Duo reached out and pulled the hems off his feet and then allowed Heero to remove them the rest of the way. After Heero folded them he grabbed Duo's pants hems and dragged them down and off. He rose to his knees again and placed the folded pants on top of the t-shirts. This left them both in nothing but shorts.

Duo had to snicker, Heero was wearing dark blue silk boxers. "What happened to the tidy- whities?"

Heero smirked and dragged Duo to him by one ankle. "I like silk better." he shrugged, "besides, it's all I have clean." He licked Duo's foot.

"Hey! And ick! That can't be sanitary." Heero nibbled at one of Duo's toes. "Oh! And ... ohmugod. That feels so good. And ... yeah, ..."

Heero had never figured out how someone who'd gone barefoot until they were eight or so could have such sensitive feet. And how that someone could walk across gravel without trouble. He decided to table that line of thought for later, much later.

Duo wriggled and squeaked, moaned and begged. He knew that Heero wasn't going to rush it much, but he was ready now. "Heero, you're killin' me here. Do somethin' besides suck my toes. I'm gonna have a ..."

Heero gave Duo's toe a nip making him yelp then pulled his shorts down and off in one smooth move. Duo grabbed for Heero's shorts and tumbled them both into one of the side walls. They'd forgotten how small the space was. Duo rubbed the sore spot on the back of Heero's head apologizing.

"Don't worry about it. You know I've had worse for less. It would be nice if we had more room."

Heero tugged Duo half into his lap. It was all they could manage in the constricted space. "Well, we'll just have to make do. Where else could we go? Your cockpit ... stop that! ..." Heero poked Duo who just snickered. "Can't ... cock pit? Please!" Heero laughed too. "Ok, I get it, but either pilots space ... laugh at that you evil pill." Duo whooped until Heero kissed him hard to shut him up.

"Sorry, Ro. I know I'm actin' silly, but why not? And ... you're right. We're not going to get anywhere. The floor space just isn't there." Duo bit at his lip for a moment. Then he grinned at Heero. "I've got an idea. Listen ... here's what we'll do. And no one will see. We're at the ass end of no where."

When Duo was through explaining his idea to Heero, all Heero could do was laugh. "That'll work. We have two sleeping bags and that'll make it soft enough."

They didn't bother to get dressed, no one could see them up there. Besides Heero liked to see Duo naked. He dumped his shorts on the pile of clothing and sat right on top of them. He maneuvered N-Wing shoulder to shoulder with N-Deathscythe and raised the right arm. Duo raised the left arm of N-Deathscythe and they set the hands together palms up. The space they created was partially hidden by the curving fingers and the thumbs also hide the area. It wasn't large, however, the two palms together were plenty large enough to lay comfortably side by side. Great for cuddling, or sex.

Heero slid out of the cockpit, unashamedly nude, and scrambled into the hand of his mecha. He spread out his sleeping bag again and turned to look for his mate.

Duo was standing on the shoulder of N-Deathscythe, hair loose and flowing in the light breeze.

Heero called softly, "Come down, love." and Duo turned to him with a brilliant smile.

"Coming. In more ways than one, I hope."

Duo eased into the palm of Scythe and shook out the sleeping bag he'd been holding under one arm.

They settled back down in the joined palms and curled into each other, Heero behind Duo.

Duo scooted back and nestled his butt into Heero's groin. Heero kissed the back of his neck, stroking his hair out of the way.

"You're going to regret this. Your hair will be a rat's nest."

"Don't care. You can brush it out later. Touch me."

Heero slid one hand under Duo and shifted him until he could reach his target. "Like this? ... or this?"

Duo whimpered at the sensation of Heero's rough hand on him. It felt so good. Heero was a gentle and considerate lover, Duo enjoyed his touch. Heero continued to stroke Duo until Duo was panting and demanding that Heero do something.

Heero rolled Duo until he was on his side. "This will be cold. I never thought to stick it under me. Sorry." Duo snarled wordlessly and pushed back onto Heero's hand. Heero eased Duo gently and spent an enjoyable few minutes readying him. Duo moaned and panted, Heero replied with some moans of his own.

"Ready? I don't want to hurt you."

Duo sighed. "Ready, willing and horny as hell. Come on."

Duo shifted a little and pulled his left leg to his chest. Since he was on his right side this left him open and receptive. Heero slipped into him easily.

Their love making was slow and languid. Heero moved slowly, just flexing his hips. Duo helped by doing the same. When they came, their orgasms were easy, barely more than a stiffening of bodies at rest.

Duo sighed and stretched. "Oh, that was soooo goooood. Man, I really needed that. You like?"

Heero grumbled softly. "Mmmmmmm, like. Love you."

"Love you back. Twice."

Heero chuckled making Duo snort.

"We ought to feel guilty, you know. Wufei being in there and all."

"Why? Neither one of us turned off the radio."

Clean up was accomplished easily. Duo used some hand wipes on them both. Heero had to snicker. "Bet Q never thought ... well, on second thought, I bet he did." Heero stood up and stretched languidly.

"Gotta piss. Scuse me." Heero stood on the thumb of N-Wing, checked the prevailing winds and delivered his payload'. Duo just laughed. .

Wufei groaned softly. That last kick to the stomach had done something bad. He wasn't exactly sure what but it made him curl around himself in agony.

The two thugs were both worried, they'd been told to soften him up not kill him. Wufei was sure he looked half dead and did everything he could to enhance the appearance. Isaiah fell for it.

"What the hell did you do to him? I wanted him impressed with our dedication, not half unconscious. Get a medic."

Ralph looked sulky. "We ain't got none. Let them all go. So?"

Wufei whimpered softly then said, "Relena, get Relena. She'll know what to do."

Ralph started to argue but Isaiah shut him up with a glance. Isaiah sent Kurt for Relena. Wufei just hoped that she could fake it well enough to get by.

He lay on the floor until someone thought to move him to a couch, then he lay there until Relena walked in.

"What is going on? I thought you people had better sense than this. Really! How could you? He's bound and helpless. Beating him isn't going to make him any more amenable to your demands than he was before. In fact, much less. And I hate to think what will happen when Heero Yuy finds out that you've half killed him." Wufei flinched, Relena still had a voice that could shatter glass when she wanted. He wondered what she thought she was doing then realized that she was speaking for the transmitter. His next thought was that Zechs had heard it all.

The sharp tap of Relena's heels on the floor alerted him to her close presence.

Relena put one hand on Wufei's forehead and clicked her tongue.

"We'll have to take him somewhere better than this. The infirmary will be perfect. The large western windows will give me enough light to see what the devil you've done to him. And don't even think of telling me to use the stairs. He's not going to be able to climb a flight of stairs. Turn on the elevator ... and have that buffalo out side carry him. Now!"

Someone started to object but Isaiah snarled, "Silence! I know we've got trouble on our hands now. I said soften him up not kill him. What's wrong with him? Lady Relena?"

Relena turned on Isaiah with a snarl. "I've been cooperative. I've done my level best. But this is beyond the pale. Get him to the infirmary. I don't like his color at all, and he's sweaty."

Wufei realized that Relena had figured out the perfect way to tell Zechs where they were without causing any suspicions. He resigned himself to being carried like a child. Not that that was much of a problem, because the man who carried him was easily six and a half feet tall.

He rested in the man's arms as he was carried to the infirmary. He hurt, his stomach was tender and sore and he tasted blood in his mouth. He hadn't bitten either his tongue or his lip.

.

Zechs held his temper in control by main force of will and a broken desk. He sent an alert to the com systems of both N-Gundams and got an answer from Heero. Heero told Zechs that Duo was with him and to get to the point, now. Zechs just filled them in, in a wooden voice, finishing, "He'll be in the infirmary with Relena in attendance. He'll be ready for whatever we decide to do. So what do we do?"

Heero didn't bother to do more than say, "We got it. Stay on the com, we'll be needing you. Tell Wufei we're coming in. To be ready to react to anything. I'll try to ride in low and snatch up Relena, Duo will get Wufei. He'll know what to do ..." Heero turned to Duo. "We're on. Suit up."

Heero opened a locker in his cockpit and pulled out a skin suit. He had to smile. The older models had been referred to as space suits but these suits were worn by almost any suit operator whether they were in space or not.

He eased it on pleased with the fit. It was padded in all the places the harness could bruise. Tight enough not to get caught in machinery and with an internal system that could be activated to put pressure on wounds.

Duo hollered from N-Deathscythe, "Hey, Heeeerrrooo!" Heero winced at the falseto, so like Relena at her worst. "Do you like your suit? Mine's just peachy."

Heero groaned at the sight of Duo in the skin tight suit. His was black and silver. Heero's was red with blue flash on the ribs. Neither realized that they made the perfect couple. "Looks good ... what first?"

Duo considered their options. "Well, we know where they are. Wufei will know enough to keep away from the windows as much as possible. And ... frankly, I think all we really have to do is bust in, grab them both and head out again. But you know how that works."

Heero made a face. "Yeah, Murphy is a real bastard. So, we'll just have to work it out as we go along. Basic plan, to summarize, fight our way in, grab Wufei and Relena, fight our way out. So far so good."

Duo nodded, trust Heero to boil a mission down to bare bones. The number of things that could go wrong reached three figures. Duo just hoped the convicts didn't have very many weapons.

"Weapons? What do you think they might have?"

Heero considered that for a moment. "Hand guns, long arms; all confiscated from the guards or the internal armory. Not much else. Except maybe a few kitchen bombs. And ... but I don't think they have the skills to make gasses from what they can find in the prison. So we just watch out for small caliber long arms and maybe a shot gun or two. Hand guns aren't going to be a problem. Anything I've missed?"

Duo tugged on his braid for a second. "Nope. I'll send Zechs a mission report. We'll be ready in no time. We ought to survey the area before we move. I'll send up a flitter."

The small surveillance plane was duly launched and Duo monitored the feed, retransmitting it to Zechs for recording.