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ON THE ROCKS

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Heero ran over to his laptop as it beeped repeatedly in an annoyingly, high-pitched sound. Duo peeked out curiously from behind the adjoined kitchen door and waited impatiently for his partner to read what was on the screen.

The five boys; Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei had all been living at one of Quatre's manors for the past few months. After Wufei was recruited by the Preventers, it was not long until the others decided to enrol. Given their abilities were all at the same level, the vast majority of their missions were assigned for them as a group. Being his considerate self, Quatre had insisted that the convenience of them all under the same roof would be advantageous for their grouped missions.

"What is it?" Duo peered over Heero's shoulder.

"A mission for all of us," Heero stood straight and pushed the monitor down, "A woman has been kidnapped by the organisation Operandai."

Duo frowned slightly with disapproval, "Wouldn't that be staking our identities a little? The lower-ranks would be capable of solving this."

"Much more will be at stake if she isn't retrieved," With no more information, Heero left to notify the others, "Read it for yourself."

Mentally scolding Heero for his vagueness, Duo opened the laptop and began to read what was on the screen. It was a briefing from Sally Po. She had gathered information on a young woman who had been taken by the leader of a terrorist group. She assumed the Operandai had been aware that the woman possessed an invaluable attribute, which could propose a threat to the Preventers. If the Preventers could get their hands on her, then maybe they could find out about these 'attributes' and use them for their advantage.

In all his time working for the Preventors and as a Gundam Pilot, Duo had never heard of a mission so bizarre. This woman must have proposed quite a threat if all five were to be involved. Duo grew somewhat frustrated at the lack of information provided in this brief, yet hated to imagine how much worse it would be if Heero have written it. Thankful that Heero had not been set to assign their Missions, he left the room in order to prepare for his next task.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

A woman, who must have been in her early thirties, shone a bright light into Mia's unresponsive eyes, testing for any pupil reactions. Mia was sitting on a Doctor's bed, her thoughts off somewhere else in bewilderment. The room was not very welcoming. It was mostly full of greys and old fashioned, yet advanced-looking computers. Metalic tables and various doctors' electronic equipment made the room seem cluttered and claustrophobic.

Before the woman had time to complete her assessments, Deuz entered the room and asked her to leave, saying he had matters to discuss with the 'new girl'. Mia clutched onto the side of the bed, hoping for some feeling of security. She felt incredibly vulnerable, suffering from blindness. She waited for Deuz to speak first.

"Hello, Mia," The man smirked.

It shocked Mia, that she was called by a name. She widened her eyes as if by reflex, although it would not help her see. She was silent, wondering why he had just called her that.

"How did I know your name?" He sat down on the bed beside the anxious girl, "let's just say there are a few things I happen to know about you."

"What do you know?"

Deuz put a hand on Mia's shoulder and leaned slightly towards the girl, hoping to give off friendly vibes. "First," He stood up to walk to the otherside of the room, eyes fixed on Mia, "let me tell you about an organisation I know called the 'Preventors'.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Wufei crouched low behind the bush which rustled gently in the breeze. His binoculars were barely visible as they peeked through the other side, giving the Chinese Preventer perfect view of the Operandai base. The Operandai base was small, to say the least. It consisted of metal walls and a concrete area, which was apparently meant to be a car park, but was occupied by one white van. The area was well out of the way- hidden in the heart of the woods.

'The perfect area for an Organisation to fulfil its plans in secret,' Wufei thought to himself.

He instinctively spun his head round as he felt a new presence behind him. After seeing it was only Quatre, he relaxed a little, going back to his previous spying. The Arabian blonde kneeled next to him, checking his walky-talky as if expecting a contact.

"The others will be ready anytime soon," Quatre looked up, fixing his eyes onto the entrance of the base, checking to make sure no enemies left the building, which could be a threat to their hiding place.

As if on cue, the device in Quatre's hands beeped quietly enough not to alert any unwanted attention. He pushed a button, which silenced the sound. The two comrades took this signal and nodded to each other before jumping over the bush then swiftly running towards the base entrance, each holding a gun up by their shoulders. They joined with Heero and Trowa along the way, reaching the gigantic doors, where Duo soon emerged, carrying a brown sack over his shoulder.

Reading each others' minds, the five kicked at once with in-human strength, knocking down the gigantic, steel doors. Alarms were automatically set off thorough the building as the team sped through the maze of corridors, guarding each others' backs while getting rid of any soldier who dared to get in their way.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Deuz grabbed Mia's arm and pulled her up, standing in the centre of the room, commanding soldiers who had come to him for instructions. Mia was panicking, clueless of what the alarm meant. She clutched her other hand on to his wrist for comfort, having to raise her voice above the alarms as much as she could to ask Deuz what was going on.

Deuz looked down at the helpless girl beside him, wondering what to do with her. He then found a solution and began to guide her to a hiding place inside a cupboard, "Stay in there and don't make a sound until I return," He instructed with a stern voice, telling Mia that she had no option to refuse, "Remember everything I told you, Mia. The Preventers will always be our enemy. Never forget that," He spoke as he closed the doors then locked them with a tiny key.

Mia cried out and slammed against the doors with her fists. She pressed an ear against the cupboard door, just in time to hear Deuz lock the room behind him when he left. This was when Mia realised she was alone, trapped in a cupboard, with no protection from the dangers outside.

Shooting and yells were heard from outside. Adrenaline rushed through the terrified girl's body, as she hoped that the only person who knew where to find her, had not been slaughtered. Mia clamped her hands over her mouth, holding back a gasp when she heard a crash of the doors as someone forced their way into the room.

"Search everywhere!" She heard the unfamiliar voice.

More crashing was heard as two intruders raided the room like scavengers. She frantically felt around the small enclosure for anything she could use to hide behind. Mia mentally kicked herself when she knocked over what felt like a pole of some sort, so it fell to lean against the opposite side of the cupboard. She froze, her pounding heart being the only proof that she was a living being.

The intruders stopped searching and everything fell silent. Mia's heart skipped a few beats and she held her breath, waiting in suspense. She strained her ears in attempt to hear what they were doing, but could only presume that they were occupied in creeping up closer. The entire cupboard seemed to rattle as the two trespassers applied extreme amounts of force onto the secured doors. She pressed against the back wall, clutching onto the pole which she had knocked down earlier, in preparation to swing it at whoever was trying to break in.

The doors flew open. Mia's pole was knocked from her hands. She was yanked outside with a rough grip on each arm, all in one, precisely timed second. Feebly, she pulled against the vice-grip which held her.

"Please," Mia whimpered as a tear escaped her glazed eyes, "leave me alone."