Chapter 75

"You sure you're okay with this, Kiri?"

"I…I think so, Quatre."

Quatre sighed. Kiri was a little nervous but she wasn't worked up enough to be concerned about it. "I still don't like this," he muttered, still angry he hadn't been able to convince Une to call this off.

"Yeah, well, that's why you're goin' in with her," Duo reminded him as he strapped the transmitter to Kiri's wrist. It was disguised to look like a simple bracelet that would go unnoticed. "This is a tracker, so keep it on, okay?"

Duo didn't want her to get the bright idea of slipping it under her parents' bedroom door or something. He'd insisted on the tracker just in case something happened and it would be useless if she took it off.

Kiri nodded but she looked nervous. Duo wondered how much of it was nerves and how much was motion sickness as the van took a turn a little fast. Kiri was buckled in but he, Quatre, and Heero were trying to make sure everything was ready to go as soon as they pulled up so they could get in and get out without attracting a lot of notice. Trowa was driving and Duo wondered if he was trying to make Kiri carsick on purpose so they'd have to call the whole thing off.

"All right, Kiri…let's go over this one last time. I will escort you into your parent's apartment. Wufei and Duo will be in the van, listening to anything that is said through the microphone in your bracelet, so whatever you do, don't lose it. Trowa and Heero will be standing guard in the hallway in case we need them. If your parents do anything suspicious while I'm in there with you, we'll take charge of the situation immediately." Quatre watched Kiri to see how she reacted to the instructions. He wanted to make sure she really was okay with this and not just putting up a front. He could tell she was nervous but that was to be expected to an extent.

"Yes, Quatre and if anything goes wrong after you leave I'm supposed to work the word "hockey" into my conversation," Kiri recited.

Quatre felt like she was a little annoyed at being instructed yet again on what they were going to do but she didn't seem to be unnecessarily upset about it, which was a bit of a relief for him. He would have felt terrible if they'd had to force her to go to her parents' home like Une had threatened to do if Kiri didn't cooperate.

Duo grinned, hoping to set Kiri at ease. "Yup. And if anything seems off from our end, I'll send Wufei in as backup. So there's nothing for you to worry about. You'll be just fine."

Heero was listening to everything from his position at the surveillance computer. "With any luck we'll have you in and out in a matter of a few hours," he added. "Once we get them to admit their involvement with Chase, we'll extract you."

Quatre had expressed his concerns after his meeting with Une and Heero had decided that following Quatre's gut instinct wasn't a bad idea. They'd get this done as quickly as possible and get Kiri out of there. Then they'd go after Chase, leaving Kiri safely behind.

Kiri nodded but seemed to be lost in thought. Duo and Quatre exchanged looks as the van came to a stop and Trowa killed the engine.

The back doors opened and Wufei got in, closing the door behind him. "We're here. Is everything set?"

Heero pushed a few more buttons on the computer, making sure that everything was ready to go. "Kiri's tracker is online. Quatre, is your earpiece functional?"

"Yes, Heero." Quatre turned his attention to Kiri. "Are you ready?"

Kiri hesitated. "I…I guess so."

Trowa came to the back at that point. He'd done a quick recon of the area and wasn't sure about the general safety of the area. It was a pretty rough neighborhood.

"We'll have to move the van in a few minutes to avoid suspicion," he told Heero.

"Right. Let's get a move on."

Heero got up and Duo took his position at the computers. Everyone else got out of the van. Duo held on as Wufei moved the van to a more secluded location. He chose a nearby alley that would let them pick up everyone in a hurry if necessary.

"Hey, Duo, how long do you think they'll be in there?" Wufei asked as he climbed into the back again.

Duo shrugged. "Not long if Quatre has anything to say about it. Shouldn't you be waiting in the front in case we need to make a quick getaway?"

"You're probably right," Wufei admitted. "But Heero told me to make sure you didn't get too bored and zone out back here."

"Gee, thanks," Duo growled. "Tell you what: I'll do my job and you do yours."

Wufei smirked. He knew that he just had to annoy Duo enough and the braided man would do everything necessary to prove he was doing his job right.

"It's a deal, Duo."

Trowa headed down the street, looking like he belonged there and was in no hurry. Quatre waited a moment before leading Kiri down the street towards the entrance to the apartment building. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her looking around her with a little trepidation.

He didn't really like the look of the neighborhood. Everything looked rundown. There were weeds in the cracks in the sidewalks and trash strewn about. The lower windows and doors on all the buildings had bars over them. The fire escapes looked like they could use some maintenance as well. If he owned buildings that were this dilapidated he would have had them condemned. And people lived here! Maybe he was wrong about the condition these buildings were really in. Maybe it was all cosmetic damage on the outside and the structures were sound. As they stepped on the stair that led into the building, Quatre felt part of it crumble away and decided that his initial assessment was correct: this place was falling apart.

Kiri latched onto Quatre's arm as they went inside the apartment complex. Quatre didn't blame her. He'd known that she was scared to do this but they'd come this far and quitting now would only succeed in pissing off Colonel Une.

"Everything will be fine. Just calm down," Quatre murmured to her as they made their way to the elevator. Trowa was heading for the stairs, ready to run up to the eighth floor and meet them. Quatre wondered if he'd climb up the stair railing instead of going up the stairs in order to get there faster and conserve energy.

Heero, who had followed behind at a slower pace, waited behind them and then followed them silently into the elevator, keeping his distance as much as possible in the small space. As soon as the elevator doors closed, Heero turned to Kiri.

"Get them to talk as soon as possible. The sooner we wrap this up the better for everyone."

Kiri nodded. Quatre could tell that she was getting more nervous by the minute. All too soon the elevator stopped and they stepped out into a dimly lit hallway. Heero headed down the hall and Quatre led Kiri in the opposite direction. Trowa appeared at the far end of the hall ahead of them. He gave Quatre a small nod to let him know that everything looked alright. Quatre nodded back and stopped in front of a door.

"Here it is," he told Kiri softly. Kiri looked at the door before glancing past Quatre at Trowa. "Ready?" Quatre asked, bringing her attention back to the door.

After a moment, Kiri nodded.

Quatre raised a hand and knocked.