CHAPTER 14:

Goku waited impatiently for Dave to return from his scouting. They had arrived at the seaport and had watched as ex-teammates ran out of the large building in groups obviously going to search for something. ~ Probably me. ~ He thought grimly. It was still too far for him to actually see what was going on inside the warehouse, but he had sent Dave to check it out. Finally, he saw the shape of his new partner approach him silently.

“Well?” Goku asked quickly.

“Many of the guys are being sent out to look for you. There are about five of them guarding the back entrance and ten more in the building.” Dave stopped for a bit, turning his head away as he saw the obvious question in Goku’s eyes.

Goku swallowed tightly. ~ Kami…please…~ “Is…is…is he alive?” he asked softly. He watched as Dave nodded slowly.

“Just barely, Goku. He was pretty roughed up. I am sorry.” He mumbled in reply.

“Grrr…I will kill that bastard!!” Goku screamed, leaping to his feet as anger took away all rational judgment.

“Chikuso, Goku! Do you want to get yourself killed?” Dave yelled back, pulling the struggling man to the ground. “Kami! Take it easy. We will get to him. Just remember the way we had planned this thing!”

“Let me go, Dave.” Goku said coldly. “I am fine now.”

Releasing the man slowly, Dave watched as Goku transformed into the cold, calculated mask of the true professional he was. Making sure that they had everything they needed in tact, Goku nodded in approval and both men began making their way quickly towards the warehouse.

“Explain to me again, Trunks, why the fuck we are here?” 17 asked in irritation, as Trunks pulled the van up to the seaport.

“Don’t you remember? Vegeta was saying something about some shipments coming in for Piccolo over here.” Trunks replied sharply, getting a bit annoyed at the tone of his mate’s voice.

“So what? We are done with our missions, we don’t have to be here.”

“Well, guess what, koi? We are here and I think it is about time we show that green freak a little lesson for all the humiliation he put us through.” Trunks answered, already fixing up his mask again.

Sighing wearily, 17 glanced at the activity at the warehouse. It seemed like only a few people were there. They would just have to plant the explosives and then split.

“As you wish, Trunks. Sometimes your idea of fun scares me.”

Goku and Dave jumped down noiselessly from the wall onto the large docks. Slinking within the shadows, they quickly made their way towards the building, making sure that they weren’t seen. Leaning against the wall, they held their breaths as voices of approaching guards reached them. Nodding in unison, both men jumped out of the shadows and with quick precision, snapped the necks of the unsuspecting guards. Reaching for the fallen men’s weapons, they proceeded towards the lighted windows.

Goku raised himself on tiptoes to see what was going on and nearly collapsed in horror at the sight of his mate. ~ Kami! Oh, my sweet Kami! Yamcha! ~ Nearly forgetting all plans, he wanted to run into the room, not giving a damn about the consequences. Gritting his teeth, he watched as Piccolo walked up to the tied man and began barking questions at him again. Whenever Yamcha refused to answer, a resounding slap would be heard. Goku winced unconsciously as each blow fell, not realizing that he now held the weapon in his hand in a grip so tight that he barely felt it crack beneath the pressure.

“I am going in, Dave. I don’t care what happens. I am not waiting out here any longer!”

“Oh, you will be going in, all right.” Dave replied evenly, as he pressed the gun against Goku’s temple. “Sorry about this, buddy. I have to get my paycheck, you know.”

Goku wasn’t sure if he wanted to scream in anger at his stupidity or just plain blow the man to bits. The decision was made for him, when he saw the figures of Piccolo, Dabura and Kibito step towards him.

“My, my, my. What do we have here?” Piccolo said mockingly, as he walked up to the snarling man. “Good job, David. Remind me to pay you in due time.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Dave answered sheepishly, as he cringed away from the death glare that Goku threw at him.

“Now, now, Goku. No need to get all worked up. Dave was just doing his job. Something that I am sure you understand.”

“You bastard.” Goku spat out, before he fell to the floor in a heap as Piccolo struck him squarely on the jaw.

“Dabura, Kibito, take our friend, Goku, here to his partner. I am sure they would both like to die together.” Piccolo said curtly, as he spun around and walked back into the warehouse.

Struggling between the huge men, Goku tried to escape, but to no avail. Finally having had enough of the man’s struggles, Kibito gave Goku a blow to the back of his head that promptly sent him into pitch darkness.

“Is that Piccolo I see?” Trunks asked in confusion, as the binoculars were snatched from him.

“Sure is.” 17 replied in grim satisfaction. “Ha! Then we can kill the bastard, as well.”

“Hold up!” Trunks said, reaching for the binoculars again. “It looks like they have someone in custody….actually two people….Sweet Kami!”

“What is it?” 17 asked, trying to gain control of the instrument again. Trunks waved his hands away, as he leaned forward.

“They have Goku and Yamcha all tied up!”

“Yeah, so?”

Trunks turned around to glare at his mate in disbelief. “So…koi….remember we all now work for Vegeta. If they figure out that we are here…think of what could happen to us.”

“So, are you saying, we should go back now?”

“No, you baka!” Trunks yelled out in frustration. “We are going to help them!”

“Like hell, I am!” 17 yelled back in anger. “I say, we plant the explosives and let them all blow to pieces. I couldn’t give a fuck about them!” 17 watched in disbelief, as Trunks snorted in reply and began steadily making his way down to the warehouse.

“You are crazy, you know that?! You are going to kill yourself over a bunch of assholes, who don’t give a damn about you! Well, guess what, partner!! I am leaving you! You can stay here if you like! I am gone!!” And storming away angrily, he headed back to the van.

Goku groaned weakly as he tried to open up his eyes. His head felt heavy and he could taste the metallic salt of his blood on his lips. Finally managing to open them, he raised his head slowly to meet the soft, warm eyes of his mate. Everything else dissolved away into nonexistence as unspoken emotions flowed between them. No words needed to be said, really. All the love and feelings that couldn’t be spoken shone through Yamcha’s eyes as he drank in the sight of the man that he never thought he would see again. Silent tears of gratitude fell down the swollen cheeks as Goku tried to say something coherent.

“Goku.” Yamcha mouthed wordlessly.

“Yamcha.” He whispered back softly, “I am so sorry…”

“Well. If this isn’t so romantic, I don’t know what is.” Piccolo chuckled as he sauntered over to the two men. “I could almost weep, you know. You two were the best I ever had and you just threw it all away.”

“What the hell do you want us for?” Goku spat out in dull fury.

“It’s quite simple, really. I want you both….dead. You have done your duty and now…what’s the word again….ah yes!! You are both yesterday’s news! But there is one thing that is bothering me, though. It seems like you two have found yourselves a new employer. A ‘Mr. Brunswick’ to be exact.”

For a moment, Goku and Yamcha looked blank at the name, until they both realized that it was the name that Vegeta had used to disguise himself. Piccolo saw the change in expressions and smirked with grim satisfaction.

“So I was right? Who is he? And what were you two doing with him in his hotel room?!” Piccolo barked out.

Smirking wickedly, Goku answered coldly, “I am afraid I cannot tell you that. I wouldn’t want to hurt your sensitive ears.” He turned to share a small smile with his partner, before he hissed in a breath as Piccolo had grabbed him by the roots of his hair. Sticking his face to within inches of Goku’s face, he snarled angrily,

“I don’t like people that fuck with me, Goku. You should know that.” Dropping Goku’s head, he promptly gave him another blow to his face, watching as Yamcha grimaced and squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.

“So you feel his pain, huh?” Piccolo smiled, as he began to pound away at the unresisting man in front of him.

Yamcha watched in horror as Goku was beaten mercilessly. Shutting his eyes in anguish, he screamed out in frustration,

“Please!! Stop!! He has had enough!! Pleasssseee!!”

“Are you going to tell me now, Yamcha? Or do I have to make mincemeat of your precious Goku?”

Yamcha licked his lips as his thoughts flew with indecision. Looking over at his mate, he saw the velvet eyes stare back in defiance, warning him not to say anything. Swallowing tightly, he shook his head and muttered a weak ‘no’.

“So be it, then. Dabura! Give Goku a little shock to make him wake up, hmm?”

“Yes, sir.”

Yamcha watched as Dabura held the laser to Goku’s stomach. Sucking in much needed air, he winced as Goku howled at the pain of the electric volts that shot through his being.

“Increase the power, Dabura!” Piccolo shouted, watching as Yamcha cringed in horror.

Goku screamed as the torment became too much for him to take. Yamcha, having seen and heard enough, shouted out through the tears that had begun streaking down his face again,

“Alright!! I will tell you!! Just stop this, please!!!!”

“Why, thank you, Yamcha. I knew you would see it my way.” Piccolo said, as he grinned in victory.

Trunks watched the events unfold with jaws agape. He began to wonder if it was such a good idea coming down here in the first place.

~ How the fuck am I supposed to do this, now? I need you, 17. ~

“I am so going to kick your butt when this whole thing is over.” Came the voice of his very thoughts. Spinning around, Trunks grinned in delight as he saw the glaring eyes of his mate beneath the woolen mask.

“Ready?” Trunks asked, still grinning as he cocked his machine gun.

“Always, koishii.” 17 smirked in return, cocking his own weapon.

Needing no further words, the two men walked towards the bright lights of the warehouse.

Yamcha sagged limply against the chair, as Kibito untied his hands. He had not had a solid meal in over forty-eight hours and his brain was at a crawl. He subconsciously reached for his passed-out mate, when cold hands gripped his neck in a painful grasp.

“Start talking, Yamcha. I haven’t got all night.”

Yamcha was about to open his mouth, when the sounds of gunfire erupted outside the building. Piccolo released his grip on Yamcha’s neck as he turned sharply towards the noise.

“What the fuck is going on?” He shouted, as he watched his men scurry about in confusion.

“Sir! Someone is shooting at us, outside!”

Piccolo glared at the two men in disgust. “You two called the police or something, didn’t you? You bakayaros!!” He pulled out his gun to shoot at Goku, when Yamcha suddenly kicked out his legs and successfully knocked the gun off his hands. Growling in anger, Piccolo gave Yamcha a blow to the stomach as he tried to reach for the gun again. As his hands touched the weapon, he howled out in pain, as Goku, who had woken up at all the ruckus, had somehow maneuvered his chair and was pinning the green man’s hand to the floor with the wooden legs.

Piccolo gritted his teeth, and with a display of strength, he pulled himself away from the chair and tipped it over, causing Goku to land painfully on his back. Grabbing the gun, he pointed it again towards the lying man, when he felt Yamcha grab his waist and try to wrestle the gun out of his hands. Piccolo snarled in anger and began giving painful jabs to the man’s already hurt ribs. Yamcha howled out in pain, but refused to relinquish his hold on Piccolo’s hands. The gun went off and both men watched as one of the many containers burst open with the illegal white substance.

“GRRR…YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!” Piccolo yelled as he tossed Yamcha back and this time pointed the gun directly at Yamcha’s head. Yamcha couldn’t get up. A mixture of fatigue and pain rendered the man useless, as he shut his eyes in defeat. ~ Kami…I tried, Goku. ~

Piccolo was about to pull the trigger, when he felt the nuzzle of another gun pointed squarely at his temple.

“Drop it, Piccolo.” Goku said coldly, who had secretly untied himself from the ropes, while the struggle had gone on.

“You can’t kill me, Goku.” Piccolo smirked in self-confidence. “Because I will kill you, first.”

Yamcha opened up his eyes at the sound of the guns going off. Sitting up weakly, he watched as Piccolo smiled,

“You…you…” the big man tried to say, before collapsing face first on the floor, the purple blood beginning to slowly seep out of the bullet wound to his head. Shaking his head in disbelief, he turned to watch his mate collapse limply to the floor, as well.

~ Oh, Kami! No! Goku!! ~

Crawling weakly on his hands and knees, he reached the lying man and turned him over, looking for any signs of a bullet wound. Seeing none, he raised his eyes to look into velvety depths that gazed at him….lovingly? Feeling his heart thud faster against his chest, Yamcha swallowed tightly and allowed himself to drown in those depths.

“Goku…” He began softly, leaning down to brush his lips against the man he loved. He felt like he would burst with happiness, he felt like he had died and gone to heaven, he felt like…

“Is this the thanks we get?!” Trunks asked indignantly, as he glared at the two men.

Goku and Yamcha got up slowly, as they stared at their longtime rivals.

“Yeah..yeah…keep your shirt on.” Goku said smiling, as he leaned against his partner. Yamcha raised eyebrows in confusion at the exchange. Looking into the puzzled eyes of his mate, Goku said softly, “I will explain it all later.”

“You had better.” 17 said curtly. “This place is about to blow up in a few minutes. Let’s move it.” Not waiting to see if they were coming or not, he grabbed Trunks’s hand and pulled him out of the building.

Goku and Yamcha had to limp, but they managed to get to the car Goku had brought along with him in time, as the loud explosion suddenly went off behind them. Collapsing weakly against the leather seats, they watched as the smoke and fires raged on into the night.

Turning his head slowly, Goku watched as his mate closed weary eyes in sleep. Reaching out, he brushed lean fingers against the face that looked so achingly beautiful. ~ Oh, Yamcha. What am I going to do with you? ~ And with a weary sigh, he closed his eyes and succumbed to the blissful darkness of sleep.