Peldor has really helped me through the nasty case of writers block I was experiencing. I knew where I wanted to go with this but I wasn't sure how to get there. For the next few chapters, while there might be some humor involved, it's going to get a bit dark.

Chapter 11 Knockin' on heaven's door

She was mad. Not that it was an unusual thing for her. No, mad didn't even begin to describe the state she was in right then. She had been mad before, mad, upset, even angry. The emotion she was feeling went beyond and eclipsed everything she had felt before and pushed her straight into the realm of completely, totally, and utterly furious. In short she was PISSED.

Normally these emotions would be caused by the actions of a certain clueless Soldier. And in a way that was the case this time. Just not for the reasons that they were before. This time although he was involved, it wasn't his fault. No, this time someone else was to blame entirely.

She was very upset at Tessa in particular and Mithral in general, but she couldn't hold that against them. They had their priorities, and while she might not like it, she understood them. Having to be around a certain Otaku had given her a better appreciation for the duties and responsibilities that faced the anti-terrorist organization.

Mama take this badge from me
I can't use it anymore
It's getting dark too dark to see
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

So while she was upset at them, she honestly couldn't find it in her to blame them for the responses she received. And even if they wanted to help her there was almost no way for them to do so. Not in the time that was available. Not before it might be too late, too late for one person, a person that had come to mean so much to her. Someone that made her feel safe, protected, wanted, and needed even. Someone who on more then one occasion been responsible for saving the lives of not only herself and almost everyone in her class, but someone that had quite possibly prevented a World War when he had retrieved a nuclear weapon preventing it from falling into the hands of people with utterly no conscious or morals, so long as their twisted desires are fulfilled.

And now for the first time in a very long time he was trapped with no support or backup. He was being held for trying to do the right thing, and that was helping the local community. Granted the way he did so was defiantly Otaku, but that was beside the point.

Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door

Over a year ago the area was in the middle of what could only be called "low grade warfare". A term she had the "Military Manic" to thank for. It seemed that the local "Group", led by the father of Mikihara Ren, Mikihara Kanji, was being threatened by the rival "Ryujinkai Group". Sousuke, in the guise of Bonta-Kun had been recruited to help train the Mikihara Group to offset the threat.

Mama put my guns in the ground
I can't shoot them anymore
That cold black cloud is comin' down
Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Shortly after the training started to produce results, Kaname and Ren were captured by the Ryujinkai Group and held pending the cooperation of Ren's father. Sousuke led a successful attack on the Ryujinkai Group headquarters freeing Kaname and Ren, and in the process decimating the ranks of the kidnapers. Amazingly no one was killed. Mostly through the use of rubber bullets and stun grenades. Considering the history of the young Solider that was almost a miracle in itself.

Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door

Somehow the Ryujinkai Group had found out that Sousuke was the one that was responsible for the planning, tactics and actions leading to the downfall of the Group, and now they wanted payback, with interest. The payback was to exact revenge for their defeat, and the interest was the A.S. They wanted the Bonta-Kun.

"YOU JUST BETTER START SNIFFIN' YOUR OWN
RANK SUBJUGATION JACK 'CAUSE IT'S JUST
YOU AGAINST YOUR TATTERED LIBIDO, THE BANK
AND THE MORTICIAN, FOREVER MAN AND IT
WOULDN'T BE LUCK IF YOU COULD GET OUT OF
LIFE ALIVE"

As ridiculous as the suit looked it was still an extremely formidable piece of equipment. Able the stop almost all small arms, including Armor Piercing Rounds, and while the suit would probably require a lot of repair, it could also allow the operator/pilot to survive a hit from an A.T. (anti-tank) round. It was also very fast, maneuverable and quiet. Able to get in to places and do things that larger A.S.es, like the M9 or ARX7 would find impossible. The shotgun alone, with what could only be described as a two gauge, was a very deadly proposition against ground troops. The damn thing was nearly 30mm.

And in the hands of the Yakuza, it could bring a whole new meaning to the term "Urban Warfare".

Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door

Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door
Knock-knock-knockin' on heaven's door

Now he was going to pay a price for doing the "Right Thing"?

Like Hell he was!

She would never forget the thoughts and feelings that went through her mind when she found out 3 hours ago. The overwhelming feelings of loss and fear, but it didn't take long for them to change though. And although the loss and fear was brought upon by her feelings for the young Sergeant, the change was brought by those same feelings. Her feelings for someone that always, always tried to do the right thing, no matter the cost to himself.

Three hours ago she received a call with no caller I.D. She almost didn't answer it. Thank the Heavens she did.

Three Hours Ago

She had left Sousuke at school for detention for his latest escapade and she was on her way home from the market. She planned on making a nice dinner that night while she and Sousuke got some studying done. She had figured out that Sousuke only seemed dumb when it came to history. It had all been a ruse on his part. No one that knew as much about the military could be that clueless about history. The history of the world was a history of conflict, and he had been playing dumb as an excuse to be near her. The subtle, sneaky bastard, she didn't think he had it in him.

She had figured that at first he was using it for mission reasons. As time passed though it became apparent that he was doing it to spend time with her, and not as a bodyguard either, but as a young man wanting to be with a young woman. That sneaky bastard, she grinned to herself thinking about the "Clueless Catastrophe" known as Sagara Sousuke. He probably didn't even know why he wanted to spend time with her, which made her feel even better.

She had just entered her apartment when she felt the vibrations from her cell. After she set her bags down she looked at the display. All she saw was "Unknown Number", and after everything she had been through she was wary of answering it. But she had also gotten the same thing when someone like Mellissa Mao called. But they usually sent a text first to let her know they were calling. Taking a chance she hit the send key opening the line.

"Hello"

"Miss Chidori, this is Eleanor, what is your current location." Strangely to Kanames ear the A.I. sounded frantic, if that could be believed.

As strange was it was to be having a conversion with an A.I. she answered. "I'm at my apartment right now, why?"

"Please meet me down stairs in 5 to 7 minutes. Sergeant Sagara has been taken prisoner."

Just then Kaname felt the floor drop out from underneath her "Wwwhat?" she stuttered, "What do you mean taken prisoner? Eleanor what's going on?"

"Approximately 1 minute ago SGT Sagara was exiting the school when 2 men approached him. Using onboard sensors I was able to record what was said. They informed him that he was under observation by sniper and if he did not cooperate then he would be shot and you would be killed. They said that this was payback for defeating them over a year ago. They also mentioned that he was going to 'give them Bonta-Kun. It is imperative that you meet me at the entrance to your residence in 4 to 6 minutes, as I believe you may be targeted anyway. Following programmed protocols I am currently enroute to your location at high speed. Please meet me ASAP." And with that the line went dead.

A welter of thoughts went through her head while she stood there looking at the phone in her hands. 'Who could it be?' 'Who did this?' 'Why?' These thoughts and more crashed through her head. Damn, couldn't she get a break, all she wanted was to spend time with the young man that had captured her fancy and heart. Dammit!!

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she thought fast. After the confrontation she had with Yu Lan, she would NEVER be caught like that again. Rushing to her room she grabbed a large bag and started stuffing things inside. Pants (mostly jeans), shirts, socks, panties, bras, shower kit. She was ticking off a mental list, with just 2 or 3 of the larger items like pants and shirts, and about a weeks worth of the undergarments. She made sure that the clothes were nondescript, but that she could also use the shirts with any of the pants, and vice versa. The undergarments she didn't care as long as they were clean.

Bag loaded, she checked the time. Her five minutes had past. She reached for her phone to call Eleanor and about that time she realized she didn't know the number. Her phone buzzed again causing her to nearly drop it. Flipping it open and answering immediately "Hello"

She heard Eleanors' melodious voice, "Miss Chidori, I am approaching your residence, ETA 1 minute. Are you ready?"

"Yea, Eleanor. I'm heading for the door now. You said they might still be after me, so how do we do this?" she asked heading for the elevator.

"I will be approaching from your side of the street. The door will be open as I approach. I do not wish to come to a stop as that might allow your capture. You will be required to jump in to the car. SGT Sagara says this is well within your capabilities. Is this true?"

Kaname smiled at what she heard from Eleanor. It seems Sousuke thought a lot about her "physical capabilities". "It's not a problem." She replied unconsciously mirroring Sousuke's trademark phrase. "Just don't be going too fast, OK? I'm just leaving the elevator now"

"Understood, Miss Chidori." came the almost musical response. "I am cruising at 25 KPH, but will slow to approximately 10 KPH just prior to your entrance. Is that acceptable?"

"I won't have a problem, Eleanor. Just be ready to get out of here."

"Understood." was the immediate reply.

Kaname paused at the door. The glass to the entranceway had been replaced about 2 months after Sousuke arrived in Tokyo. It seems that a certain someone had vandalized the foyer windows forcing the replacement. The new glass was polarized so you could see out but you could not see in. Kaname waited just inside the door ready to bolt for the car.

Looking out she was able to see up the street. She saw the huge purple/black shape of Eleanor easing down the street nearing her apartment building. "I see you, Eleanor, get ready." And with that she closed the phone dropping it into her pocket. Taking a better hold on her bag, she took a deep breath. When she saw the door open on the car she left the door like a sprinter leaving the blocks.

The door opened the rest of the way just as Kaname got into position to jump. Tossing the bag in the passenger seat she landed on the drivers. Sliding around, she settled in to the seat and slammed the door. Looking up the in the direction they were heading she saw a face she recognized.

It was the face of one of the goons from when she was held hostage by the Ryujinkai Group and suddenly she knew who the enemy was. Startled, she started grabbing for her harness, desperately trying to fasten the buckles.

"Eleanor we have to go! Those are the same guys as last time!" she said.

"Understood, Miss Chidori. Please hurry getting your harness fastened, as I will be unable to use full abilities until you do"

"Dammit, just go! I'm working on it!" Kaname almost snarled

The two men had seen her dash into the car. Reaching into their jackets they pulled out their pistols and started heading for the car. Eleanor accelerated and veered to the other side of the road to get out of path of the men heading for the car. Under the right circumstances she could run them down, but these were not it. Not while she had other alternatives.

All this seemed to take forever to Kaname, but in reality it was less then 30 seconds since she left the door of her apartment. The Yakuza fired on the huge American muscle car and a switch was tripped. Eleanor suddenly veered back at the two gunmen, clipping one and sending him crashing into the other. Straightening out Eleanor barreled down the road heading out of sight of the two men now picking themselves up off the ground.

Kaname had finished getting her harness together in time to see the men coming to capture her go flying. Looking back she saw them getting up and begin to take aim. Just as they got their sights lined up Eleanor made the turn at the corner, tires squealing.

She faced forward, bringing her hands up to her face, she started to cry. "Damn, now what do I do?" she said to herself. In over a year, and except for one frightenly glaring exception, she had never had to deal with something like this without Sousuke. And although it was a rhetorical question she received an answer.

"Miss Chidori, you are in command, however unless told otherwise I am currently heading for a place of safety. If I may make a suggestion, we should contact the DaDannan and inform them of the situation. That way we can get you to safety. They may also be able to assist SGT Sagara."

"That's not a bad idea, can you get in touch with Mao?"

"Certainly, Miss Chidori. Opening communications now."

Kaname heard the ringing over the speakers and heard Mao pick the line.

"Hey Sousuke, what's up?"

"Mellissa, it's Kaname, Sousukes been taken. I think it's the Yakuza from last year trying to get back at him. He was taken about, what 10-15 minutes ago, Eleanor?"

"That is correct Miss Chidori, SGT Sagara was abducted 11 minutes ago as he was leaving school and approaching me. Following protocols, I proceeded directly to Miss Chidoris' and secured her safety."

The stream of invective that Mao started spewing was impressive, to say the least.

"Eleanor, why the hell didn't you do something to help him? You were right there, weren't you?" she spat at the A.I.

"Sergeant Major, you are aware of the restrictions hardcoded into me. I am not authorized to take any offensive actions unless there is an authorized operator/driver on board. Even my defensive options were limited in the situation I was placed. The only exception to these restrictions is if Miss Chidori is on board, alone, yet unconscious. That is the only situation I am authorized to take unilateral action. The options were even more limited as part of my programming requires me to place the safety of Miss Chidori above that of SGT Sagara. The individuals that captured SGT Sagara stated that they intended to harm her. That automatically placed her at a higher risk. Therefore, given my orders and programming Sergeant Major(SGM), what would have had me do?"

It was at that point that Kaname knew, not thought, but knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how the young man in question felt about her. After everything he had done for her, he still knowingly placed her higher then himself. Snapping herself back to the discussion at hand she heard Mao's reply.

"Grrrr, that idiot. Give me a few minutes and I'll call you back, I'm heading for the CIC (Combat Information Center). Mardukus, Kalinin, and the Captain are there. We'll try to figure out something, just hang tight, Kaname. OK?" What that would be Mao had no idea because she had already been briefed on the upcoming mission and it was already looking dicey at best. The only reason Sousuke wasn't there was Intelligence was certain there would not be any Venom Type A.S.es to fight. She didn't think there would be much they could do from the DaDannan.

"OK, Melissa, please hurry. I'm worried about Sousuke." she said in a quiet voice. Mao could hear the concern, worry and fear in Kaname's voice. 'Damn, and here I'm calling Sousuke an idiot'

"Kaname, are you OK? Did anything happen?" she asked

"We had a close call a few minutes ago when some of the Yakuza showed up to get me, but I'm OK"

'I knew there was something besides Sousuke bothering her, but she's too worried about him to think about that now.' "Listen Kaname, when we figure out what we're going do about Sousuke, do you want to talk?"

"Maybe, right now I'm too worried about Sousuke to think straight." came the reply through Mao's phone. Mao had left her quarters/office and was just entering the CIC and saw Commander (CDR) Mardukus, Lieutenant Commander(LCDR) Kalinin and Captain (CAPT) Testarossa poring over a map of the area they were about to enter.

The conversion that followed was not to Kaname's liking. She clearly remembered the words condemning Sousuke to the not so tender mercies of the Ryujinkai Group.

Tessa, after hearing the situation in Tokyo, looked at the situation board in front of her. And though it stuck in her craw, knew that she couldn't be 'Tessa' then. She had to be 'The Captain'. "I don't think we're going to be able to do anything right now. We're over 6000 kilometers (3700 miles) away heading for French Polynesia on a mission. Even at our top speed of 75 kph (50mph) it would take over 3 days to back. The plan didn't call for the Arbalest, that's why we didn't call Sousuke in."

That was something Kaname did NOT want to hear.

"What the hell do you mean you can't do anything? Goddamn it this is Sousuke we're talking about. Don't you remember him? The guy that saved your submarine. The guy who got that nuclear warhead back. The one who saved your asses in Hong Kong. And now that he needs help you're just going to forget about him?" Kaname was screaming and crying at the same time.

Tessa was nearly in tears as well and was about to respond to the frantic young woman on the other end of the call when Kalinin held up his hand to stop her. "Miss Chidori, this is Lieutenant Commander Kalinin, you must understand. There are over 500 civilians that are being held hostage on board a ship that we are heading for. Ask yourself this, what would 'Sergeant' Sagara want us to do?" He deliberately stressed the word "Sergeant". "Not what would Sousuke the high school student say, but Sergeant Sagara the 'Soldier'. The same young man that has fought and shed blood for the safety of others. I have 2 daughters and consider Sousuke to be almost a son. Yet I have been forced to send him into harms way more times then you can know. What would he say?" His gravely voice almost cracked when he said this.

Kanames voice though, did crack. "He would tell you, oh God, the idiot would tell you to save the people. Stupidhead, moron, the fool would just forget about himself as long as they were safe." She was completely in tears by now, when the hurt transformed to fury, anger and rage. "FINE", she screamed through her tears at the console. "IF YOU WON'T DO ANYTHING I WILL. Don't bother calling me back unless you can help Sousuke. Eleanor this call is over."

The next chapter is going to be a while. I have it mapped out, just not written down. The last three chapters were mostly put together while I was getting past the block I had in chapter 9. Please Read and Review. It helps the writing process.

All for now, Armydude