Wufei was glaring the whole drive back to Phnom Penh.
Heero didn't bother meeting his glower, electing to stare out of the scratched passenger window as day made way for night along the dusty dirt roads. They had driven for so long by then that he wondered at his own ability to remain awake, mentally cursing their crude method of transport with his every thought.
"You're an idiot."
He glanced back, somewhat surprised that his driver had finally decided to speak, but didn't care to address the insult directly.
"How far are we from the base?"
Wufei scoffed. "You know how far we are, Yuy. You've been counting the miles since we left."
Heero turned back to the window, watching the last bit of sun disappear in the distance, and checked his cracked watch-face.
Ten minutes.
It seemed somewhat impossible that they should finally arrive at a Preventer base after so long, but when they finally did, he felt none the happier to see it.
It looks worse than Manila.
Although he had been stationed at the Phnom Penh Base for a few weeks by then, he was still amazed at what a terrible state it was in. The local gangs had done a number on the already limited facilities of the place, and—given the tiny trickle of funding from ESUN—there were hardly the resources necessary to repair or replace any of the equipment onsite.
But that will change soon.
"Agent Yuy!"
He looked up automatically, becoming rigid at the sound of her voice; when his eyes settled on her features, he suddenly realized that she must have taken an overnight flight from Brussels to be there to punish him in person.
"Lieutenant Po," he greeted back, saluting her as he entered the main hall of the base.
She seemed to resist the urge to reach out and grab him; instead, she appraised his appearance with a deathly scowl, crossing her arms stiffly, and drew close to him.
"Are you aware of how many protocols you violated? What the repercussions of your actions could have been for your fellow officers and commanders in the field?" Her brow furrowed further, and her tone grew lower and graver. "Were you trying to get yourself killed?"
He didn't answer, nor could he, given her words. He merely kept his head bowed in deference to her rank, not trying to give any excuses for his behaviour.
She seemed to watch him for an eternity before she spoke again.
"Get out of my sight, Yuy."
He looked up in slight surprise.
What?
When he didn't move, Sally raised an eyebrow. "Did you not hear me, Agent Yuy? You stink. Now go and clean yourself up, for God's sake, and then meet me in my office."
He had hardly even noticed the crusty bloodstains splattered across his Preventer uniform until she had told him to clean up, but as she walked off, Wufei following behind her in a fit of rage at her light treatment, he suddenly felt slightly sick at his own stench.
No wonder Wufei was in such a bad mood.
He was led to the shower room by a nameless officer who glanced at him nervously from time to time, his pace quick and his limbs fidgety. Heero frowned at the boy's jittery movements when they reached the room after a few minutes.
"What is it, Officer Watanabe?"
The boy looked at him in surprise.
"You . . . you remember my name, sir?"
YOU ARE READING
Slow Burn
Fanfiction[Gundam Wing A/C; a 1xR series of vignettes post-Endless Waltz.] He had always been conscious of the fact that she—Relena Darlian Peacecraft, Queen of the World—loved him, and him alone. And yet that was the problem, since he could never give her wh...
