Author's Note: The action continues. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing

Warning: slight language, death, violence

Return of the Rat Pack

Solo witnessed his victim jerk instantly once his shot hit but he didn't stop there. He fired a few less accurate shots but was still pleased when Heero fell to the ground, unmoving.

Then the enormity of what he had just done finally hit him.

He had just killed somebody. He had shot them in cold blood… Even on the streets of L2, he had never done such a thing; hell, he hadn't even killed in self-defense back there. And now…

He swallowed and slowly made his way over to Heero's corpse. He stopped a few feet from it, not daring to get any closer. He couldn't…no, he wouldn't check to see if the man was dead. How could Duo be able to do this? It was horrible!

He glanced over at the ship and knew where to focus his now boiling anger. It was those people. If they hadn't tried to start the shit in the first place, then he wouldn't be here, he wouldn't have had to kill. He knew what he had to do.

He had to get on it and find Duo and Quatre. He was here and whatever help they could get would be most welcomed. He had learned from last time and he swore to himself that he wouldn't let himself he knocked out this time.

But first thing was first. He had to get aboard.

It shouldn't be too hard…

---

Quatre pushed himself in his small hiding place as far as he could as the sounds of multiple foot steps passed him. The noise level dropped and he was able to identify a lagging terrorist. He forced himself to wait just a few more seconds until the footsteps were practically beside him.

Then he swung his arm out, his knife plunging into the soft body of flesh. He pulled the man in and finished the job, making sure his victim was dead before taking up the man's gun and signing to Duo that it was over.

The braided one immediately appeared at his side.

"No more time for sneaking around now, Q. We're gonna have to go gung-ho on this one."

"Gung-oh?" Quatre repeated, raising an eyebrow.

Duo shrugged. "You think Katsaris is going to stop shooting those rockets? If he hasn't already, he should know that you're gone and that you're going to be trying to take out the rockets."

"What about you? Why aren't you including yourself?"

"He thinks I'm locked up in the captain's quarters and that there's no way out. But now's not the time for the element of surprise."

"Gotcha."

The two stole out into the open, not bothering to cover the noise they were making. With all the activity going on, no one was overly concerned about it. Taking a right and going up a set of steps, they came across one of the rockets, along with the four men who stood around it, preparing it for launch.

Without hesitation, the opened fire, careful not to hit the lethal rocket. Two fell immediately but one fired back and they had to take cover. Duo forced them around a corner and stopped, waiting for the shooter to follow them.

"Take care of this asshole," Duo told Quatre. "I'll deal with the other guy." Nodding, Quatre braced himself, ready for the imminent fight.

And they weren't disappointed. The man came into view and Duo grabbed him, pushing him to Quatre so the blond could deal with him while he rushed back over to the rocket.

Despite being smaller than his opponent, it didn't mean that he was physically weaker. As the man stumbled towards him, Quatre planted his hands on the man's shoulders and kneed him in the stomach and dispatched the gun in the man's hands while he was at it. Bereft of his primary weapon, Quatre's opponent swung a punch at him. Anticipating such a move, Quatre ducked easily, causing the fist to slam into the metal wall behind him.

As the man cursed and held his fist in pain, Quatre struck, kicking him in the crotch and then grabbing a hold of his neck, twisting it until he was sure it was broken.

Meanwhile, Duo sped back to the rocket, only to find the other guard waiting for him with a machine gun ready. Since he couldn't risk the chance of hitting the rocket, he had to move close in but that was easier said than done especially when a barrage of bullets were being shot at him.

He was going to have to be quick about this. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a knife ripping through the air, implanting itself in the man's left eye. The terrorist collapsed into a boneless heap and Duo closed the distance between himself and the rocket.

By now, he had gotten the hang of opening the hatch and that was a good thing as an ominous beeping sound alerted him to the fact that the rocket was about to be launched. In a sense of déjà vu, he ripped the canister out just as the rocket took off. He watched as the projectile fell into the ocean without the canister and the device within to guide it to whatever target Katsaris had planned for it.

That was definitely a close one.

Quatre came up from behind, relieved when he saw the canister in Duo's arms. Breathing out a sigh of relief, he inquired Duo over what they were going to do with it now. Duo's solution was to throw it overboard where it would be picked up later. Even if the gas was released, the water's natural solubility would work to dissolve the poison before it could do any lasting harm.

With that done, the two set out to find another rocket.

---

Trowa sighed in relief as the launched missile plummeted into the sea. He didn't know what may have caused that to happen but at least it wouldn't be striking any city.

Glancing over at Wufei, he confirmed that the rocket they had found had been dealt with. When onyx eyes caught his, Trowa simply stated, "Six more to go."

Nodding, Wufei said, "We better hurry then."

The moment Wufei finished, a terrorist had just rounded the corner and from the look on his face, he wasn't expecting to see them of all people. Trowa acted immediately, piercing the man's flesh with a hail of bullets. The terrorist jerked as the bullets entered him and he felt to the deck, motionless.

Nodding to Wufei, the two hurried away.

---

Katsaris gritted his teeth in frustration as Thurston reported, "I'm not getting any response sir! Something's wrong!"

"Obviously," he retorted. "It seems the rodents are free and sabotaging us." Spinning around, he picked up a communicator and began to bark in his commands. "Colonel Ottsman! Captain Taylor! Protect the rockets at all costs! Kill anybody who approaches, even if it's one of our own! Do you understand?"

Yes, General.

Yes Sir!

Turning his attention to Thurston, he continued, "You get out there too. I'll handle things here."

"Yes, Sir," Thurston answered as he got up and picked up a gun, taking a couple men with him.

Snarling, Katsaris took over Thurston seat and began setting up the coordinates for the remaining rockets to target. If only he had thought to bringing a centralized launching system, he could have put a timer on them all and not have to worry about them. They needed to still be manually set before being launched still so he would have to contact each and every one to order the next launching.

This was definitely not going as planned.