FicWad

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Up and down, down and up, Wufei surveyed the new crack troops (in training) of the Preventers. His mouth curled into something resembling disgust as he swept his gaze along the line of scared faces.

He narrowed his eyes and snapped out to a terrified petite blonde, "Stand up straight Private!" With alarming quickness, her back jerked up to an extreme. Wufei nodded sharply with approval.

Striding forward he stopped in front of a pale faced brunet. The boy gulped and snapped out a shaky salute that Wufei watched, eyes tracing the arc but didn't acknowledge.

Continued on and the tension depended.

Someone sighed, and Wufei turned faster than light, a mere blur. He walked, a deadly predator, to a tall red head. The woman stared blankly forward and Wufei smirking slightly peered at the dark faced lad in her shadow. A line of sweat shining of his brow and upper lip.

Wufei opened his mouth... and stopped.

A tremor raced across the ground and the line of Preventers lost their formation as they braced themselves. Body lines tense as they looked around waiting for the next.

"Earthquake?" A soft, whispery voice asked.

Wufei stood in a half crouch, eyes aimed towards the ceiling. "No, no, that wasn't an earthquake... It sounded like a bomb."

He was thrown to the ground as a much stronger vibrations racked the Preventers HQ, he hit it and rolled, landing without injury, "Get down!" He yelled, putting his hands on his head.

The Preventers stood still before half of them dropped quickly to the ground, others following soon after.

There was a dreadful, cracking sound from above and Wufei sneaked a look at the high rafters, and then watched in horror as part of the ceiling snapped from the whole and fell in large, heavy chunks down onto the sprawled, helpless people below. Wufei was on his feet, heedless of the danger, yelling for them to move, quickly.

His voice wasn't heard above, the snapping but some started to move, others were frozen in fear as the concrete and steel landing on top of their prone bodies.

A small figure running head first, bumped into his side as she fled the danger. Wufei watched as a young man was crushed, upper body remaining alive long enough for Wufei to hear a small cry for his mother.

Steel bars, dropped on a woman, her arm snapping under the pressure and she screamed in pain, eyes soon soulless at the now gaping hole above. Wufei knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse in need, nothing.

Fingers stained in blood, he brought in slowly to his cheek as a small sharp piece of metal scraped against his shoulder. Warm, blood soon brought him to the present.

Snapping out of the haze, Wufei scanned the training grounds. Most people were gone, some were helping others and a dreadful amount were dead or injured.

Small chunk of concrete landed on a man near Wufei, dying instantly but his blood reached Wufei, flying outwards to him covering his jacket and boots in the sickening copper smell.

Wufei closed his eyes in pain at the loss of the future, of the life.

Straightening he started began helping a small group of people desperately trying to free a wan Preventer. Staring into those pain ridden eyes, Wufei felt the world ripple and pain clutch at his heart.

**********

They were like bees Quatre realized, as he delivered his annual speech. Drone, drone, drone. It was mildly interesting but not enough to interest Quatre through he was needy for some entertainment. As much as found the intellectual thrill of running WEI exhilarating, it was the people that made the job absolutely boring and intolerable.

Blandly saying thanks to the crowd he resumes his seat and watches as a tall, thin man take the podium and shakily, slowly begin his speech.

Smiling at his secretary as she handed him a cup of steaming tea, he nodded his thanks. Gazing at the steam and the funny shapes it was making he reconsidered his statement. No, it was only the upper level management and shareholders who really made him long for anything interesting to happen.

Staring out of the glass window, he saw a bird swoop outside. Thought trailing off, Quatre wondered if he should take up sky diving. It looked like a lot fun.

His sisters wouldn't approve. Just like Emilia didn't approve of him daydreaming during board meetings. He flashed her a winsome smile, which she regarded suspiciously and tried to pay attention.

This was all facts and figures, being repeated for the benefit of the people who hadn't managed to read the annual report. Being a part-author of that Quatre could rattle off the facts without a second thought.

It's didn't help that the person speaking sounded as if he had never stood before an audience, that or he had no shame at all and was a boring old bugger.

"... and, uh, the rates, um... were incre- increased by, by an per- percentage of, ah..."

Quatre looked around at the glazed faces of the board. Two seats down a man was gently snoring, resting in his rolls of neck fat. One dignified old lady was tapping her cane, tapping away the seconds.

There were too many. People were yawning as they tried to pay attention.

The man at the podium paused, fumbling in his pocket and then sneezing into a large, red plaid handkerchief. The sound echoes and nappers wake, in surprise.

As the man wipes at his sniffing nose, murmurs rise. Then as he taps the microphone, clearing his voice silence gradually takes over as the people surrender themselves back to the dark forces of the speaker. Finally there is quiet.

His mobile rang then, the theme song attracting snickers and Quatre mildly cursed Duo in the inside.

Turning to the side, his back to the probing curious eyes of the board, he whispers, "Winner here." There's silence for while until someone speaks.

"Quatre?" It's Wufei and he sounds... different. Voice sounds so much more bitter, rasping the words out, "There has been a attack at Preventer HQ, a bombing."

Wufei stops speaking and Quatre hears the sound of sirens in the backround. All types. "Yes Wufei?"

"Your skills are needed Quatre. Lady Une has ordered your calling up. Along with others."

"I see." Quatre stares at the flashing green light of call waiting, "I'll come as soon as possible."

He can feel Wufei grinning, even if he can't see it, "Good. But traffic's a killer at this time of day, even if you are CEO of WEI," sardonic as always, Wufei was.

Quatre smiles himself, "Oh, Wufei I won't be driving by car."

He hears just before he ends transmission was Wufei's rushed, "What - "

Standing up and Quatre gives the board a grin feeling guilty as he does so, "I officially call this board meeting to an end." Watches as the people look in surprise, some with relief others with distrust.

Right now, Quatre doesn't care as he walks with long strides out of the room. He's grinning, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins already, the thrill, the dirty thrill of danger.

With his mind coming up of various plans, Quatre flips his mobile open and calls for his very own Helicopter.

Perks of CEO, having this power. Quatre needs it right now. It hurts knowing that he knew one day he would be in this situation.

***********

Wufei is staring grimly at the scene, the fire licking away at all the hard work. All the effort for peace and prosperity and then...

Nothing. It all was a waste of effort and time. Not to mention the lives of those who had been the serving the people.

Lips were cracked and bloody. He kept on chewing on them, leaving them raw and open to the smoke, wind and whatever rubbish touched him. It made him feel dirty, feeling the ravaged skin under him tongue and teeth and in another way he felt satisfaction surge through his body at the bitter, tangy tastes sweeping over his taste buds.

It had been a while since he felt this way. This time, he wasn't prepared for it, no matter how hard he trained or how many missions he went on, this felt different from the usual, the norm.

This tasted liked war.

Fright had wormed it's way into Wufei's heart as he dimly watched from deep inside of him the scene unfold. Bodies were being taken away and people were screaming. Loudly hammering in his skull is the sound of yells, orders.

And the dull beat of a whirling helicopter.

He glanced up, no purpose in his mind, there in the sky, a dark black speck that was steadily coming ever closer to Preventer HQ. It wasn't the only one in the sky, but... It was the one who grabbed his attention.

On it's shiny outer core was the embossed, Winner.

Hovering over head, buzzing around the scene Wufei continued to stare upwards at the sunseted sky, feeling the faded sun rays on his skin and the tight feeling in the stomach lessened as started to breath again.

***************

A blond head, seemingly not held back by the familiar goggles and with his hair whipping back and fro in the intense current created by the helicopter gazed downwards, a small smile appearing when he spotted Wufei. It was lost quickly to the chaos, as Quatre stared grimly at the husk of Preventer HQ and the black body guards lined up like a honour guard.

So... It was true then. He had believed Wufei, yet up close everything seemed, to vibrate much more strongly than mere words ever could. He could once more smell the intermixing of smoke and blood, shuddering slightly at his thoughts he concentrated at the task.

Nodding to the pilot he adjusted the harness, testing the safety and secureness. Clipping it to the slim, flexible rope he held in his hand, Quatre gave one final tug.

Leaning from the helicopter, the machine leaning with his weight so slightly, he muttered under his breath, a count off, "...three, two, one!" Suit jacked flying back, he ignored it and focused on the feel of the tough rope.

Jumping off the helicopter Quatre felt as once the air whirl behind his ears, the sting of smoke in his eyes and the jerk of the rope, as his slid smoothly down to the ground.

With the carcass of the burning building flaring up behind him, Quatre descends to the ground.