Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters. Nor do I get any profit from writing this fic.
BODYGUARD
Chapter 1
The dull metal halls never ended. Occasionally the monotony of silver-grey walls, floor and ceiling was broken by a spatter of crimson blood or a dead or dying body of an officer or soldier in their dark green and black uniforms.
Expendable, the renegade thought, just used as fodder and I'm still alive.
Footsteps echoed somewhere up ahead and the renegade paused for a minute to check how many bullets were left in the two .22's that had sufficed as the only protection for this mission so far.
Two male voices and one female could be made out as the voices ahead. Using the mental map that the renegade had of the complex, the renegade determined the best place to be for when the strangers rounded the corner.
"Arrgh" one of the male voices said.
"Sorry" replied the female.
"Can you walk, Relena?" the other male voice said in a low husky whisper. Relena's reply wasn't heard because the renegade had to think fast to find a place to hide from the one person in the whole complex who wasn't allowed to see her face.
Relena and her companions rounded the corner, only to be met by a deserted corridor. Before they reached the end of the corridor they stopped for a moment to let Relena rest.
"We have to keep moving." the soft male voice said as Relena hesitated when the other two stood to move on again.
"OK" she said reluctantly, "I'm sorry for having to lean on you, Quatre"
"It's OK" Quatre reassured her, "If Heero and I had done a better job of protecting you, you wouldn't have to."
"Lets go." Heero said, his voice serious and determined.
They reached the end of the corridor and surveyed the two ways they could go. To their left lay three dead bodies surrounded by drying blood. Two had soldiers uniforms on and the third was dressed in black trousers and a white vest top. The sight attracted Quatres attention. He took a step forward to look at the three bodies, paying his silent respects. Heero was wary.
"He mustn't have had enough time to change into his uniform." Quatre said softly, full of sympathy for the dead unknown soldier.
"Don't get too close," Heero warned, "This is the way out." He nodded to the passage leading to their right.
"I think he's still alive." Quatre said, narrowing his eyes at the soldier in the tank top.
Heero stepped forward, gun ready in his hand and aimed at the shirtless soldier. The chest of one of the uniformed men rose a fraction off the ground, then sank back to where he lay. The movement was hardly noticeable. Seeing it out of the corner of his eye, Quatre edged closer but Heero had reacted faster. He swung his arm over to aim at the stranger and fired. The hair and scalp of the man, already matted with what had to be blood, jumped away from the mans head in a small spray of blood as the bullet burst through into his skull.
This seemed to reinforce the need for urgency to Quatre as Relena, leaning on his shoulder, turned to stare down the other end of the corridor, silently convincing herself that there was no need to waste tears on the dead man. Heero, not saying a word, led the way down the hallway to the right.
Breathing heavily but silently from under the officers jacket that she had managed to take from one of the dead officers, the renegade closed her eyes in thanks to no-one in particular that the group hadn't lingered around the three bodies on the floor. The renegade had taken a huge gamble when she had reached out to pull the leg of the soldier in front of her, but the barely noticeable move had had it's desired effect.
The renegade stood after a few more minutes and shed the soldiers jacket, draping it respectfully around its dead owners shoulders again. With silent thanks to the two dead strangers who had just saved her, the renegade carried on through the quiet halls to complete the mission.
*
Relena sighed as she sat in her office at the Preventers headquarters, sifting through a pile of application forms that had found their way onto her desk. She knew Heero had put them there and she knew it was only through affection and care for her that he had done so, but Relena couldn't help feeling like she was being treated like a child. It wouldn't have been the first time that one of the preventers had taken actions to protect her further, as if living and working in the same building as 5 Gundam pilots and 15 other preventers wasn't enough.
The papers she was flicking through were applications for the post of her personal bodyguard. All of them had been submitted by current members of the preventers, apart from one. The name on this form caught her eye immediately and she pulled it out of the pile to read through more thoroughly.
It's been a while, she thought as she read over the name of the applicant. Catalonia. After reading through the application form in her hand, Relena picked up the phone which sat under a pile of folders and reports that she had to read through and reply to, and dialled the contact number at the bottom of the page.
*
The phone rang twice before a tired hand reached over the edge of the cheap motel bed and fumbled with the receiver.
"Hello...hello?" she croaked into the handset but was met only with the dial tone. After a moment for her brain to awaken and click into place, the girl rolled over quickly and pushed herself up to reach further over on the table by her bed for the mobile phone that was flashing. She sat up properly and brushed her short dark blonde hair out of her face, cleared her throat and flipped down the flap to answer the phone with a clear...
*
"Hello." the voice on the other end of the phone was strong and confident. Heero leaned closer so that the microphone that sat on the table in front of him could record the phone conversation that he was listening to through headphones in his room. The laptop screen that glowed from beside the microphone showed a series of sound waves, the result of what was being recorded on the phone. More waves appeared as the voice spoke again.
*
"Hello?" the voice said again. Relena snapped out of the flow of memories that the voice had invoked.
"Hello, miss Catalonia?" Relena said in her most business-like voice.
"Yes, who is this?" the girl on the other end asked in an equally professional voice.
"My name is Relena Peacecraft. I'm calling about the application you made for the post of professional bodyguard."
"Yes."
"If you are still interested in the post, I'd like to invite you down for an interview."
"Oh, that would be excellent."
"Is tomorrow at 3 pm suitable for you."
"Yes, that's fine."
"Alright, if you have a piece of paper, I'll give you the address."
"Right." the girl grabbed a pen that lay by the phone and turned over her hand, squashing the phone between her ear and her shoulder.
"It's 5 Meridian Place. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes, yes I do, thankyou."
"Then I'll see you at 3 o'clock tomorrow."
"Yes, thank you miss Peacecraft."
"Thankyou, good bye."
"Good bye."
*
Astramina
BODYGUARD
Chapter 1
The dull metal halls never ended. Occasionally the monotony of silver-grey walls, floor and ceiling was broken by a spatter of crimson blood or a dead or dying body of an officer or soldier in their dark green and black uniforms.
Expendable, the renegade thought, just used as fodder and I'm still alive.
Footsteps echoed somewhere up ahead and the renegade paused for a minute to check how many bullets were left in the two .22's that had sufficed as the only protection for this mission so far.
Two male voices and one female could be made out as the voices ahead. Using the mental map that the renegade had of the complex, the renegade determined the best place to be for when the strangers rounded the corner.
"Arrgh" one of the male voices said.
"Sorry" replied the female.
"Can you walk, Relena?" the other male voice said in a low husky whisper. Relena's reply wasn't heard because the renegade had to think fast to find a place to hide from the one person in the whole complex who wasn't allowed to see her face.
Relena and her companions rounded the corner, only to be met by a deserted corridor. Before they reached the end of the corridor they stopped for a moment to let Relena rest.
"We have to keep moving." the soft male voice said as Relena hesitated when the other two stood to move on again.
"OK" she said reluctantly, "I'm sorry for having to lean on you, Quatre"
"It's OK" Quatre reassured her, "If Heero and I had done a better job of protecting you, you wouldn't have to."
"Lets go." Heero said, his voice serious and determined.
They reached the end of the corridor and surveyed the two ways they could go. To their left lay three dead bodies surrounded by drying blood. Two had soldiers uniforms on and the third was dressed in black trousers and a white vest top. The sight attracted Quatres attention. He took a step forward to look at the three bodies, paying his silent respects. Heero was wary.
"He mustn't have had enough time to change into his uniform." Quatre said softly, full of sympathy for the dead unknown soldier.
"Don't get too close," Heero warned, "This is the way out." He nodded to the passage leading to their right.
"I think he's still alive." Quatre said, narrowing his eyes at the soldier in the tank top.
Heero stepped forward, gun ready in his hand and aimed at the shirtless soldier. The chest of one of the uniformed men rose a fraction off the ground, then sank back to where he lay. The movement was hardly noticeable. Seeing it out of the corner of his eye, Quatre edged closer but Heero had reacted faster. He swung his arm over to aim at the stranger and fired. The hair and scalp of the man, already matted with what had to be blood, jumped away from the mans head in a small spray of blood as the bullet burst through into his skull.
This seemed to reinforce the need for urgency to Quatre as Relena, leaning on his shoulder, turned to stare down the other end of the corridor, silently convincing herself that there was no need to waste tears on the dead man. Heero, not saying a word, led the way down the hallway to the right.
Breathing heavily but silently from under the officers jacket that she had managed to take from one of the dead officers, the renegade closed her eyes in thanks to no-one in particular that the group hadn't lingered around the three bodies on the floor. The renegade had taken a huge gamble when she had reached out to pull the leg of the soldier in front of her, but the barely noticeable move had had it's desired effect.
The renegade stood after a few more minutes and shed the soldiers jacket, draping it respectfully around its dead owners shoulders again. With silent thanks to the two dead strangers who had just saved her, the renegade carried on through the quiet halls to complete the mission.
*
Relena sighed as she sat in her office at the Preventers headquarters, sifting through a pile of application forms that had found their way onto her desk. She knew Heero had put them there and she knew it was only through affection and care for her that he had done so, but Relena couldn't help feeling like she was being treated like a child. It wouldn't have been the first time that one of the preventers had taken actions to protect her further, as if living and working in the same building as 5 Gundam pilots and 15 other preventers wasn't enough.
The papers she was flicking through were applications for the post of her personal bodyguard. All of them had been submitted by current members of the preventers, apart from one. The name on this form caught her eye immediately and she pulled it out of the pile to read through more thoroughly.
It's been a while, she thought as she read over the name of the applicant. Catalonia. After reading through the application form in her hand, Relena picked up the phone which sat under a pile of folders and reports that she had to read through and reply to, and dialled the contact number at the bottom of the page.
*
The phone rang twice before a tired hand reached over the edge of the cheap motel bed and fumbled with the receiver.
"Hello...hello?" she croaked into the handset but was met only with the dial tone. After a moment for her brain to awaken and click into place, the girl rolled over quickly and pushed herself up to reach further over on the table by her bed for the mobile phone that was flashing. She sat up properly and brushed her short dark blonde hair out of her face, cleared her throat and flipped down the flap to answer the phone with a clear...
*
"Hello." the voice on the other end of the phone was strong and confident. Heero leaned closer so that the microphone that sat on the table in front of him could record the phone conversation that he was listening to through headphones in his room. The laptop screen that glowed from beside the microphone showed a series of sound waves, the result of what was being recorded on the phone. More waves appeared as the voice spoke again.
*
"Hello?" the voice said again. Relena snapped out of the flow of memories that the voice had invoked.
"Hello, miss Catalonia?" Relena said in her most business-like voice.
"Yes, who is this?" the girl on the other end asked in an equally professional voice.
"My name is Relena Peacecraft. I'm calling about the application you made for the post of professional bodyguard."
"Yes."
"If you are still interested in the post, I'd like to invite you down for an interview."
"Oh, that would be excellent."
"Is tomorrow at 3 pm suitable for you."
"Yes, that's fine."
"Alright, if you have a piece of paper, I'll give you the address."
"Right." the girl grabbed a pen that lay by the phone and turned over her hand, squashing the phone between her ear and her shoulder.
"It's 5 Meridian Place. Do you know where that is?"
"Yes, yes I do, thankyou."
"Then I'll see you at 3 o'clock tomorrow."
"Yes, thank you miss Peacecraft."
"Thankyou, good bye."
"Good bye."
*
Astramina