A/N: Thanks for the reviews, Black-Phinoex. :D
CHAPTER 54-Battle
"Okay, Rhapsody, get to it." Riley nodded over the vid screen with a slight grin. The song she'd picked to alert Okon to their presence was "The Hamster Dance."
"You are twisted, Rhapsody," came Duo's comment as he shook head.
"I'm just getting warmed up." The music was audible to anyone who had her up on their vid screen because she was listening to it to make sure nothing went wrong with the jammer.
"Yeah, well could you play something a little less annoying?" Heero was frowning at her.
"Uh, dude, that's kind of the point," Angelo said, smirking.
"Come on everybody now here we go
It's a brand new version of the do-si-do
Just stomp your feet and clap your hands
Come on everybody, it's the Hamster Dance!
Bounce in time to the beat
Hey, you don't even have to move your feet
Just shake your thing like I've seen you move
Now spin around and feel the groove
YEEEEEEE-HAW!" (A/N: Admit it, you totally just sang that in your head!)
"Grandin! What is that racket?
"I don't know, Dr. Okon."
"Well find out!"
"Yes, Ma'am, right away."
There was an explosion in a nearby wing. Grandin motioned to some of his men and made his way towards the noise. The spray of bullets that met them prevented them from ever finding out who was behind the attack.
Outside the base, Rhapsody, Guardian, Vigilante, Sandrock and Deathscythe had finished taking care of the attacking mobile dolls. Duo thought it was a little too easy to take them out. There weren't many of them, which was expected based on the report from Une. Either the person in control of the dolls wasn't skilled or they were just a distraction from what was about to come.
"Okay, everyone, time to move in. Guardian and Sandrock, take Hangar A, Vigilante and I will take Hangar B. Rhapsody, I want you in Hangar F."
"Um…can I ask why?"
"It's that farthest away from where the others should be engaging Okon. I want you to keep jamming their communications to make sure she can't call for reinforcements. The longer it takes for them to find out it's you, the better chance we have of stopping them. Plus I want to keep you as backup. Kind of our Ace in the Hole if you catch my drift."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Deathscythe, and I guess that keeping me out of harm's way has nothing to do with it."
"Hey, I call the shots out here, Rhapsody. If you don't like it you can go back to Peacekeeper and watch from there."
"You know you can't get rid of me that easily. You boys just better hope you get to Okon before I do if you want her alive."
Duo glared at her through the vid screen. "Just don't do anything stupid. That goes for everyone. Now get in there and back up the others."
Zach and Duo had no problems entering the base and quickly met up with Trowa and Alex.
"Any sign of Okon?"
"Not yet, but Heero and Wufei have been holed up in Hangar C. The Harvesters haven't let up their barrage since they landed."
"What about Spots?"
"I stationed him in Hangar A to wait for Quatre and Braxton. He has instructions for their group."
"Right. Zach, why don't you and Alex go find Riley and we'll get the others out of their little situation. Keep your guard up, we still don't know where Okon is."
"Right, Duo."
"Turn on your communicators to Omicron Frequency so we can keep in touch without Riley jamming it."
Zach and Alex quickly turned on their earpieces and set the correct frequency.
"Alert us to any sign of Okon. Now move out."
Zach and Alex ran into the others outside Hangar A and relayed the communications information.
"Right. You four go find Riley and make sure that Okon doesn't get her hands on her. I'm going to join up with the others and we'll work our way through the base back to you and flush Okon out."
"Sounds good, Quatre," Zach said.
Rhapsody's jamming system spewed out another song. After 'The Hamster Dance,' it had gone through several songs including Chumbawamba's 'Tubthumping,' Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life,' and Off Kilter's 'Here I Stand.' Riley could have used all annoying songs like 'The Hamster Dance,' but since the pilots would all have to listen to them, too, she decided to be nice and play music that she hoped would inspire them to fight back harder. That didn't mean she didn't slip in some songs just for fun. After all, what better torture was there than 'it's a small world'?
Riley waited for further orders, but she wasn't happy about it. She sighed. She knew that Duo just didn't want her in danger and knowing what Okon wanted with her made his point very valid. But she still didn't like the idea of waiting around for Okon's troops to find her. She grunted with annoyance.
"I did promise not to do anything stupid and to be careful," she said to her Gundam. "But, hell, Rhapsody, what am I supposed to do? It isn't like taking this psycho to jail will stop her. She's got the money to pay off any judge and if the judge won't be paid off, I'm sure any lawyer she hires will be able to get her off. Hmph."
Riley watched the monitors of her Gundam with growing impatience. If she didn't get an update soon, she would go looking for Okon herself. There was no way Riley was letting her get away.
"Look out!" Zach pulled Angelo back around the corner as Okon's men started shooting down the hall at them. "Braxton and Alex get to Riley and get set for a fight. I'll hold them off here as long as I can. Spots, can you get back to the others and let them know we need backup? Their communicators must not be on or else it must be too loud for them to hear me because they're not answering."
"Sure thing," Angelo said prying the cover off a vent and disappearing into it.
"You sure you don't want one of us to stay with you?" Braxton asked.
"No. Get to Riley. I'll be there in a minute."
Braxton and Alex dashed down the hall. Zach leaned out around the corner and shot a few rounds, satisfied to hear a couple of cries that indicated he'd hit someone. He didn't enjoy hurting anyone, but he needed to keep Riley safe.
"Zach, come in."
"Yeah, Brax?"
"We're in position. Get down here."
"Roger that." Sending a few random shots at Okon's minions, Zach ran down the hall towards Hangar F. He grunted as a bullet found its mark in his bicep but kept going. Another grazed his hip as he dodged down a side hall. He sent another volley of shots and turned to run, changing out the magazine on his glock.
He swore as another bullet hit him in the back. He stumbled with the force, but kept going and managed to make it into the hangar ahead of Okon's men.
"Damn there were a lot of them." Duo reloaded for the fifth time.
"Yes and it's too bad they refused to surrender," Quatre agreed. "Did anyone catch Zach's communique?"
None of them had. They'd been a little preoccupied.
"I'll go check on them," Duo volunteered.
Just then Angelo appeared in the doorway. "Hey, you guys didn't answer us," he accused.
"We were a little busy," Heero said, indicating the many bodies that littered the floor.
"Yeah, well, Zach and the others are holding off more of them. They were going to fall back to Hangar F and make sure Riley was okay."
Duo swore and dashed out the door.
"Right then. Quatre take Angelo and do a sweep of this wing. I'm pretty sure it's clear but I want positive confirmation. We don't need anyone sneaking up behind us. Trowa and Wufei, take the side wing and I'll join up with Duo to back up the others." Heero turned on his heel and led the others out.
Riley was waiting with Rhapsody's gun trained on the hangar entrance. As soon as Braxton and Alex pulled Zach out of the way, she made short work of Okon's lackeys. She waited until Braxton checked out the hall and gave her an all clear before grabbing the first aid kit from her cockpit and joining the boys around Zach, not bothering to close the hatch.
Grabbing a couple of Iraqi Bandages she handed one to Braxton and he started to wrap Zach's arm while she took care of his hip. Alex kept his glock focused on the door, just in case.
"Ri-ley…my back," Zach managed before passing out.
Riley and Braxton quickly got him turned over and they wrapped another bandage around his torso, praying that the Iraqi Bandages would keep the pressure like they were supposed to.
"We need to get him out of here. Can you get him into Rhapsody and I'll take him to Peacekeeper?"
"Sure thing Riley. Alex, help me." The two boys had put on inches as well as muscle over the several months of training and were able to lift Zach's larger frame between them.
"Well hello, Riley. Fancy meeting you here."
Riley spun around to see Dr. Okon aiming at her.
"And here I thought I'd end up paying the bounty. Aren't you just accommodating?" Okon took a few steps, narrowing the gap between them. "You have proven most elusive. I do not plan on letting you go now that I have you." Okon raised her comm unit and growled, "Grandin, come in."
There was no answer except Twisted Sister's 'We're Not Gonna Take It.'
Okon glared at Riley. "Drop the jam now or I'll blow a hole in you wide enough to fly a Gundam through."
"I can't turn it off from here. I have to be inside my Gundam."
"Hm. Sorry, but I'm not falling for that one. It would seem we are at an impasse. How about you tell me how to disarm it and I will do so. And as long as you don't run, I won't kill your little friends immediately."
She indicated Alex and Braxton as they supported Zach's weight between them.
"Let them go and I'll cooperate. No tricks, no resistance. I won't even flinch when you draw my blood."
Okon's eyes narrowed. "Now who let slip about that?"
Riley realized her mistake but quickly shrugged. "Looks like our intel was accurate."
If Okon had any suspicions about how they'd gotten their information she didn't show it. "Your little deal seems a bit one-sided. I already have you and your friends could just come after you again."
Riley fixed the boys with a glare. "Swear that no matter what, you won't come after me."
Braxton's eyes widened. "But—"
"SWEAR IT!"
Alex silently nodded, not trusting his voice. Braxton bit his lower lip and nodded as well.
Okon laughed. "Well, I suppose that will have to do for now. Drop your weapons and get out," she ordered the boys.
The two struggled under Zach's weight but dropped their guns and moved as quickly as they could towards the door.
"One second."
The boys and Riley looked at Okon, suspicious she was going to change her mind.
"You have to be communicating with the others somehow, even with this interference. Leave the comm units or no deal."
The boys looked at Riley who nodded. She wanted the boys out of there before Okon could change her mind for real. Riley took out her earpiece and dropped it on the floor. The boys followed suit, removing Zach's as well so Okon couldn't use it as an excuse to go back on her part of the deal.
Once they were out of the room, Okon turned back to Riley.
"How do I turn off this infernal racket?"
The boys made their way to the rendezvous, desperately hoping to find one of the others soon. They'd sworn not to go after Riley, but that didn't mean the others couldn't. They knew it wasn't good when the halls suddenly went silent.
"What happened?" Duo was dashing down the hall towards them.
"Duo! Quick! Okon's got Riley!" Alex blurted out.
"She agreed to go with Okon if we were allowed to leave," Braxton added quickly.
"Where is she?" Duo growled.
"In the hangar."
Duo took off at a sprint leaving the boys to fend for themselves. He switched his communicator to hands-free mode so he could call for backup while shooting if he needed to.
The boys met up with Heero shortly afterwards. Zach was coming around and insisted he was fine, but Heero determined that the two boys would assist him back to Vigilante.
"Why didn't you alert us through your comms?"
"Okon made us leave them."
Heero grunted. "Zach, if you're sure you can still fly, you can rest in your cockpit and we'll all fly back together as soon as we get Okon taken care of. Alex, once you get Zach taken care of I expect you to assist Quatre and Angelo with their sweep. Braxton, you will stay with Zach just in case we missed anyone or in case the other groups flush anyone in your direction. I expect you to cover each other."
"Um…we don't have our guns anymore. Okon made us leave them behind, too," Braxton admitted.
Heero threw Alex a small semiautomatic pistol. "Alex, there's a spare gun and ammo in Wing's cockpit. Get it for Braxton and then find Quatre."
"Yes, sir," he answered. They moved to follow orders and Heero followed Duo's path towards Hangar F.
Riley opened the control panel at Rhapsody's foot and pressed the sequence that would lower the lift cable.
"When you get inside press sequence 2-9-8 to stop the jam."
Okon grabbed the lift cable and Riley closed the panel. She moved to the other side of the hangar as Okon rose to Rhapsody's platform. Okon turned and fixed Riley with a look. Riley assumed it was a glare, even though it was too far away to be certain.
"That's far enough, Riley. Don't move from that spot." There was no mistaking the command in her voice. For being a hangar, the acoustics were excellent. Okon slipped inside and stopped the jam. "You know, now that I'm up here maybe I ought to put your Gundam to use."
'Over my dead body,' Riley thought.
Okon stepped onto the platform again. "I'm sure it would be most effective for making people listen to me, especially with your jamming device. Just think of what you could force people to listen to. And imagine the subliminal messages you could implement. Hmmm…I think the first message should be for everyone to bow down and follow my every whim."
Riley stood still, but pulled a small black remote from her pocket as Okon laughed and continued making plans for Rhapsody.
"Sorry Duo," she whispered.
Duo got to the door just in time to see Riley push the detonator.
A/N (pt. 2): Um...my internet provider is changing and I'm losing access starting tomorrow. I'll try to find somewhere to post on Sunday if the new provider hasn't hooked us up yet.
Don't hate me if I can't...
