Operation: Hurricane

Chapter Nine

Who are you?

Izreina's mental voice was not very strong, but it was clear. She needed more information. She had a thought about Kalli's newest soldier persona. It wasn't Kalli. Simple as that. It wasn't Lightning either, because even Lightning had respect for Kalli's husband. This persona had no such respect. It had thrown insult after insult to Trowa even during its attack on Trowa. Even in Kalli's sleep, the persona was at work, using Kalli's talents to continue to hurl mental assaults, not just at Trowa, but the others as well, though they were nowhere near as powerful as the first attack on Trowa had been.

The only option Sally and Lange had come up with to stop the attacks was to induce a coma as they had Trinity, but that wouldn't solve the problem. Izreina had to have access to Kalli's mind. At least, while Kalli was sleeping, it would be easier to identify the soldier from Kalli and Lightning, since Izreina knew both of these personas well. The problem, now, was what do with it. First, she figured she would find out what the hell they were dealing with.

Someone who is worthy of the talents given to this weakling.

Not the answer she wanted. And it was apparent that her sister wasn't even aware of this persona. Kal was certainly no weakling. And once she found out what this soldier had done to her husband, she would prove it. But it was likely this persona wouldn't allow that. And what happened to Lightning?

Considering what you've used the talents for, I'd hardly consider you worthy.

Izreina did not regret her words as she became the target of the soldier's next attack. She had hoped to focus the attention on her so that the others would be safe. She gripped the arms of the chair so tightly her nails literally dug into the wood as she fought back the wave of pain. After a long moment, it was painfully obvious Izreina wasn't strong enough to fight this persona. Thunder needed to interfere, to find Lightning. Then, perhaps, they could both fight out this intruder.

Izreina searched her own mind to recover the soldier that had been buried. And when she 'spoke' to the intruder again, Thunder's mental voice was stronger than it had ever been, and the presence of Thunder in Kalli's mind always pulled Lightning out to join the Storm collective.

I will ask you to leave only once.

The reply from the intruding persona was as expected. I don't think so…

But it was slow in coming; strained, confirming that Lightning was attempting to answer the call, fighting against its apparent imprisonment. Thunder knew she had to push further to break the walls. If Izreina was the dominant persona at this point, she would have hesitated. This would damage Kalli's mind, but it was necessary. Sacrifices are made in war. Kalli would heal. Thunder's mind fully invaded, further drawing Lightning towards her.

There is no room for the likes of you…

Thunder gave a small smile at hearing Lightning's voice with hers, even though it felt weak. Lightning had apparently been fighting this demon, as Trinity had called it, for quite some time. Thunder's presence wrapped itself around Lightning's in an attempt to strengthen it.

I will NOT give in… This woman is not worthy of the gifts Master Barton has given her…

Thunder's smile fell as she felt Lightning being pulled away from her again. Master Barton… This intruding presence was a servant of Sarris… Before she knew it, Thunder had completely lost her connection to Lightning and the intruder forced her presence out of Kalli's mind with another attack that sent Izreina flying out of her chair and across the room.

Izreina didn't feel herself hit the wall. In fact, she wasn't even aware of the attack until she felt someone's hands help her up off the floor. Her eyes met the worry in her brother's as she finally regained her senses. Telekinesis… That was new… and extremely dangerous. There was no way that was something given by the psi device. Kalli must have had a hidden talent, like her brother's empathy. Izreina muttered a quiet curse. That was why Kalli's mind had always fought the device; it was attempting to override abilities she already possessed.

She shook her head as Duo helped to steady her. This wasn't good. Now the intruder had another weapon at its disposal. She shot a glance over to Kalli. The intruder's presence felt weaker, as if the fight had been a bit too much to handle. Good, it would be resting for a while to regain its strength. That would give her some time. Thunder wasn't going to win against it alone. She looked at the doorway as Sally ran into the room.

"Put her in the coma…," she said, her voice soft and shaky, both hands grabbing hold of her brother's arms for support. "I… We have to wait for Trin to get back…" She nodded and leaned against Duo as his arms wrapped around her. She closed her eyes a moment to try to gather strength, but she felt Duo lift her off the ground just before she lost consciousness.

"Damn…," Trinity muttered as she opened her eyes. She laid her head against the back of the jeep's seat, looking up into the evening sky for a moment. All day and now into the night, the sky was darkened with clouds, remnants of the previous night's thunderstorm. This was good; nature was giving them cover to help them in their stealth. Still, this mission was going to have to be quick. Kalli's body and mind would not be able to handle everything she was being put through at the moment. And she certainly won't be in her coma long before the intruder found a way to fight through the medication, which was a possibility, considering the strength it has to lock Lightning's persona away. She ran both hands over her head a moment taking in a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh as she turned to look at Michael.

"Dad's crew is almost in position," he said softly, understanding the statement in her eyes, so he didn't even voice his question. The mission needed to be quick and successful. His aunt Kalli's life probably depended on it, not to mention his mother's and Kiera's. His eyes turned back down to the laptop resting on his lap. "Getting around the defense system will be tricky, but I think I can do it. I can't guarantee that the charges won't go off, but the timers will be off by a few minutes."

"How much time can you give us?" she asked as she stepped out of the jeep, zipping her jacket up. She took the weapon offered by her brother and checked it over before slipping it into the holster on her hip.

"Approximately ten minutes. Based on the information I've seen from the attack on his headquarters six years ago, and the rescue operation six years before that, it looks like they're set to go off at sixty-second intervals. Considering the size of the building in comparison to his previous headquarters, it shouldn't take more than five minutes before the place is gone. That's IF the explosives are limited to the admin building, but if he's holding the students in the dorms hostage, I'm willing to bet the entire school is wired." His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment as he looked at them. "I've no idea what they've done to the admin building since last time any student set foot in it, but I can have a diagram of the building in less than a minute. And I should be able to see where the explosives are shortly after."

"We don't have time to wait for it," Heero said as he checked his own firearm. "You'll have to give us directions once we're inside." He stared at his nephew for a moment as he slid his gun into its holster. He almost couldn't believe that Trinity had allowed the teenager to be involved with this mission, but he had to keep reminding himself who his parents were – General Milliardo Peacecraft and the Preventer Tempest, two of the strongest soldiers he had ever known. He also had to keep reminding himself what HE was doing at Michael's age – fighting with four other teenagers to save all of humanity.

"Your communicators have trackers built in. I've got their frequencies installed. I'll know exactly where you're at. And if they fail…" Michael glanced up from his computer to his mother for a moment.

"I'll be in touch," she said, lightly tapping her temple. "You have a weapon. You know how to use it. If you sense trouble…" She frowned as her eyes met her son's, worry filling both cobalt gazes. She didn't like the idea of him being out here. First there was the fact that Barton had admitted to wanting him for his project. But secondly… the Storm and the gundam pilots did this kind of work to prevent kids like Michael from being used as they had been. Still… there was no denying Michael was good at what he did. She didn't trust anyone else to even attempt what she had asked Michael to do. Once she and Heero were inside, their lives were in Michael's hands from the moment he hacks into Barton's computer system.

Michael nodded as he pulled away from his mother's gaze, back to the computer screen. He stared at the screen for a long moment before answering, knowing what she wanted was for him to confirm his orders. And he understood her reason. But, at the same time, she knew him far too well. "Abort and take care of myself…"

Her eyes narrowed on her son. Oh, yes, she knew him far too well. She knew that half-hearted answer meant the order was more or less a suggestion to him. But then..., she sighed, giving a somewhat defeated glance to her brother… All Yuy's were the same. When there was a job to be done, it was done, without regard for their own safety.

Heero offered her a hint of a smile, as she knew was best he could do. It was of little comfort to her, but she took it as it was intended. She looked back towards Michael, but stopped, a sudden expression of surprise crossed her features as her son stood beside her, his arms wrapped tightly around her neck. She stood stiff, stunned for a moment.

It had been years since he'd last hugged her. As he grew, he'd learned to curb displays of emotion, as neither of his parents seemed truly comfortable in those situations. He remembered the only time he was able to hug his mother without her stiffening in discomfort was when she was in that hospital bed at HQ six years ago after she was caught in the detonation of her sabotaged gundam. Seldom, would he offer any touch of love to anyone, even his sisters. Even when he did, it was little more than a brush through the hair or a touch on the hand. But he couldn't fight instinct any longer as he slid out of the jeep and had his arms wrapped around her before he even knew it. And when she finally relaxed, letting her arms slide around his waist, he shut his eyes tightly, fighting the emotion within them.

"You and Uncle Heero are always telling me to follow my emotions," he said after a moment, keeping his hold around her as he pulled back to meet her eyes. And Trinity was realizing, for the first time, that he had grown taller than her. He stood almost as tall as his father, now. "Right now, they're not going to let me leave here without Kiera, or you. Even if I have to go in, myself, and get you." He pulled one arm from around her neck to hold up a single finger as she began to protest.

"All of you… the Storm, the gundam pilots, the Preventers in general… All of you have given up so much to fight so the rest of us can have peace. But what about peace for yourselves? Someday, humanity is going to return the favor. I'd just as soon do my part now." He let both hands rest on her shoulders as she dropped her arms from the embrace. "Mom, you're always giving everything you have to protect and watch over everyone else. It's my turn, now. And my turn's not gonna be over until I die. There will be no discussion." He stepped away from her and slid back into the jeep, pulling the laptop back into his lap. "You can order me to abort all you want, but I'm not leaving here until our mission is complete."

She glanced over to Heero who had a smirk spread across his lips. "He is YOUR son, Neesan…," he said with a soft chuckle.

"YOURS is going to be that age before long, Yuy…," said Zechs' voice over their communicators. As annoyed as his words sounded, Trinity gave a small smile at the hint of pride in his voice. "We've only got a fifteen minute window to get in place while they change watches on our end. And that begins now, so you'd better stop talking and get going."

"You're not going to let them do it alone, are you?" Treize leaned back into the chair after setting a fresh cup of coffee in front of Une. He had claimed a permanent spot in her office since she hardly left it the entire day and used his time to aid her however he could, be it fetch her caffeine or food, or simply offering an ear to listen to her rant. She was certainly a different woman than the colonel he had relied on during the days of OZ. The Preventers that served under her respected her. And not out of fear, either, as the OZ colonel had earned her respect. She cared for her subordinates. And in the case of the gundam pilots and the Storm, they were her family. Lady Une proved she would do anything for them. And the more he observed her work, the more he stood by his earlier remark. He was proud of who she had become. And the woman he saw now he admired far more than the colonel.

She was still getting used to what was clearly defined as a role-reversal compared to what she was to Treize fourteen years ago. And even though a part of her was utterly uncomfortable about him tending to her needs, she felt much more at ease with her current position. She understood now, why he had relied so much on her back then. It was easier do deal with things when you had someone to share your burdens with. And simply his ever calm presence and demeanor was enough to comfort her.

"In a normal situation, if you can call anything that happens to this family normal, they'd have the other pilots to back them up." She gave him a small smile in thanks as she picked up the coffee cup. "Obviously, that's not an option…" Her smile disappeared as she leaned back in her chair, sipping on the black liquid. Sally had just sent her latest report on Kalli and Izreina and it didn't look good. Une couldn't say she completely understood what was happening with the girls, but she knew for sure that there was always some kind of trouble without Trinity to hold things together. "And however well-trained my operatives are, I don't think I could, in good conscience, send them into a situation reserved for the expertise of the gundam pilots. Besides, Trin made it clear they were on their own… but…" She paused a moment before continuing thinking aloud.

"Lucrezia is on stationed on L1. And Marimeia left yesterday to escort Zechs' daughters to her for safekeeping. Duo is down in the Med Center holding watch over our two Stormers. Wufei is with Relena on L3. They'll be back some time tomorrow evening. Quatre is busy with a very emotional kindergartener. But he's got a mission as soon as his sister, Aria, gets in tonight to take over with Jacob. Trowa's been missing since Kalli was brought into the Med Center yesterday." She sighed, lowering her eyes to stare into her cup. "I suppose his disappearance is understandable. His wife nearly killed him. I've never seen him so… broken is the only way I can describe it. Whatever it was she did to him… Yuy's said it's got him questioning his capability as a soldier. That's something I never expected of him."

"Does he have family outside of the pilots?"

"He has an adoptive sister. Part of a travelling circus troupe. Quatre is hoping that's where he's gone." She sighed again as she leaned forward, setting the cup down next to her keyboard. She continued to stare into the steaming black depths for a moment before looking up, meeting his eyes.

"Zechs said the school administration and teachers are mostly made up of former OZ members. That's why the school bears your name. He also said the staff isn't willingly involved in Barton's plans. He's holding the students living on campus hostage." She paused a moment to dig through a mess of papers that were scattered across her desk. "I've got a list of personnel and have been running checks on them. A handful of them were Specials..." She gave a nod after finding the page she was looking for. "…Including the principle, Marcus Day…"

"I find it hard to believe that Specials would give in to the demands of a terrorist." Treize frowned, reaching forward to take the page she offered. "I remember Marcus." His eyes left hers to briefly glance over the page before returning. "And I can tell you running a high school is NOT what I pictured someone like him doing. He was too much like Alex and Mueller."

Une gave a nod and a shrug as she sat back in her chair. "I had the same reaction. But we've all changed since the end of the war. And, yes, I made double sure to check that he was running a high school and not a training facility. Several of his students that graduated during the first three years of the school have become Preventer operatives. And they're damn good in their respective departments. He and I had a long conversation the other day when I pulled Michael out of school to watch over his mother. Well… more of an argument than a conversation, but I believe in him."

"So you think he'd help Zechs?"

"I doubt he would if I asked him." She sighed for a long moment, staring at the paper as he handed it back to her. Her hesitation probably told him what she was thinking, but she knew he was waiting for her to say it. Her eyes finally met his again. "But he would never refuse you…"