A/N: Oops, I thought I posted this chapter last week. Sorry! Enjoy.

Chapter 80

Trowa led the charge into the building. He took no notice of the men under his command. They knew their jobs and he trusted them to do it. Heero and Duo led their men to other parts of the house. Their main objective was to find Kiri, Quatre, and Wufei. Their secondary goal was to secure the location, capture anyone inside and take them for questioning, and rescue any other victims that Chase might have at this site.

Trowa headed down the stairs, his men hot on his heels. They followed the hallway until it split in several directions. Pausing only briefly, Trowa quickly separated his troops and sent them in different directions, hoping to prevent Chase from escaping this time. Trowa was about to head down the hallway to his right when a gunshot sounded down the hallway in front of him. He changed his mind and quickly followed the men he'd sent that direction. Just as he passed another offshoot, he heard his name.

"TROWA!"

Another gunshot sounded as Trowa threw himself against the wall just outside the hallway. That was Kiri he heard and he wasn't about to let her get shot. Taking a quick look around the corner to make sure that he could make his shot without getting shot, he calmly stepped out and fired a round at Chase, distracting him from shooting at Kiri again. It did not escape Trowa's notice that Kiri was limping heavily. Trowa stepped forward so that Kiri wouldn't have as far to go and shot again. This one hit the wall. Chase was trying to dodge but Trowa knew he couldn't dodge him forever. Kiri stumbled over to Trowa just as he shot again. The third round hit its mark and Chase went down.

Kiri buried her face into Trowa's chest as he wrapped his arms around her trembling form.

"It's okay," he assured her. "Let's get you out of here."

Trowa put his arm around Kiri and gently guided her down the hallway, away from Chase. She was hurt and would need medical attention. He would come back and look for Quatre and Wufei once she was out of harm's way.

They didn't make it very far before another shot rang out and Trowa felt a burning sensation in his shoulder. The force of the bullet made him lurch forward. He managed to catch himself but he dropped his gun. He silently cursed. He'd gotten lazy and hadn't checked to make sure Chase was really dead. It was a costly mistake. Using himself as a human shield so Chase couldn't shoot Kiri, Trowa whispered to Kiri, "Can you reach my gun?"

Kiri knelt down and Trowa followed suit, making sure to keep himself between her and Chase. As Kiri picked up the gun, another shot rang out and Trowa couldn't stop the gasp of pain as another bullet slammed into his shoulder. He lost his balance and barely managed to stop himself from landing on top of Kiri. This was getting too dangerous for her. He had to buy her some time.

"Run," he ordered her. "Give me the gun and get out of here."

If she could just find Heero or Duo she would be out of harm's way and that would be good enough for him. He knew he would just slow her down.

Another shot rang and Trowa instinctively shoved Kiri to the ground. The bullet buried itself into the wall, just missing his head. Kiri's eyes were wide as she looked at the hole. Trowa hated that she was so scared. He had to get her out of here at any cost. He started to get up.

Chase's voice cut through the silence. "Don't move, Preventer, or I'll pump you full of lead."

Trowa froze. He wouldn't be of any use to Kiri if he was dead but he couldn't let Chase win, either. He had to come up with a plan but it was hard to think through the pain his shoulder was in.

Chase took advantage of Trowa's apparent cooperation. "All right, Amanda, let's make a little deal."

Chase smiled to himself when the girl flinched at the sound of her name. He'd never called her that before, preferring to treat her like a nameless thing than a person as he trained her to do his bidding. The use of her name would make her wonder what kind of sadistic move he was about to make and set her off balance. He would use that to his advantage.

Chase made sure his tone was genteel. "You come over here right now and I won't put a bullet in his head." He smiled as the girl frowned. Surely she wouldn't refuse such a reasonable deal. After all, the Preventer wasn't of any consequence. And Chase would dispose of him after he had the girl back.

Trowa stayed silent and still as he watched Kiri's internal struggle. He couldn't let her sacrifice herself for him. After all, he'd never planned on surviving the wars. Dying here and keeping her safe would be an honorable end to a long career of fighting.

Kiri started to stand up. Trowa grabbed her arm. He couldn't let her surrender. Kiri looked at him and Trowa shook his head vehemently. There had to be another way. Kiri's eyes were blank as she shook him off and stood up.

Trowa didn't dare move more than to turn and watch what was about to happen. He still didn't have a back-up plan that would result in a victory. Everything he thought of ended up with him being shot and Kiri being taken anyway. He wished that Duo or Heero would show up. They could distract Chase long enough for him to grab Kiri and make a break for it. But luck just wasn't on his side today. Trowa was helpless as Chase laughed.

"You see? You are mine. You always have been and you always will be," Chase gloated.

Trowa could only watch as Kiri aimed the gun at Chase. He wasn't sure she knew what she was doing. As he watched her trembling hands hold the gun, he was certain she didn't know what she was doing. He could only hope that Chase would surrender and he could step in before Kiri hurt herself.

Chase laughed. "Well, look who thinks she's so tough," he taunted. "We both know you won't do it."

Just to prove he didn't think her capable of shooting him, Chase took a step closer, still aiming his own weapon at Trowa.

"Go on. I dare you."

"S-stay back," Kiri managed to stutter.

Chase glared at the impertinent girl. "What did I tell you about talking, Amanda? I think letting your other friends live was a mistake. And I learn from my mistakes."

He smirked at the fear in the girl's eyes as he adjusted his aim to the agent's head.

Duo led his group upstairs. They were prepared for anything. Well, almost anything. What they weren't prepared for was to come up empty. There was nobody upstairs. It looked like a normal house. It wasn't like the last raid, where the rooms upstairs actually looked like they were used for illegal activities. These rooms looked like an office, a couple of guest rooms, and a master bedroom. There was even what looked like a nursery. Duo couldn't make sense of it. He knew Kiri was here somewhere. At least, her bracelet was here. Maybe they'd brought it here as a diversion.

"You men keep looking. Search everywhere. Make sure there are no hidden rooms or anything," Duo told his troops. "I'm going to see if the others found anything. If you find anything, contact me by radio. If you don't, rendezvous at the bottom of the stairs and await further instructions."

Duo left them behind and made his way downstairs. He saw Heero as soon as he got downstairs.

"Did you guys find anything?" he asked.

Heero shook his head. "This is weird. It seems like a normal house. You don't suppose it's just a diversion, do you?"

Duo shrugged. "Might be. I told my guys to keep looking, just in case there are hidden rooms somewhere. I'm going to check in with Trowa. If he hasn't found anything by now we may have been sent on a wild goose chase. If that's the case…"

Duo didn't want to finish his thought. It wasn't a pretty one. They might not be able to find Kiri if she wasn't here. There was no telling if they kept Quatre and Wufei with Kiri or if they split them all up.

"I'll stay here in case anyone gets flushed out. If Trowa hasn't found anything we'll reconvene here and figure out our next move," Heero said as he took up position by the front door. From this position he could see the staircases that led upstairs and down. He would see anyone that came up or down.

Duo nodded. "Roger that."

He headed down the stairs, not expecting to find much. He frowned as he came to a split in the hallway, unsure of which direction he ought to head. The sound of a gunshot echoed down one of the branches and Duo took off at a sprint, pulling out his own weapon as he went. He could hear a male voice issuing orders. He stuck close to the wall and peeked around a corner down a side hallway. What he saw made him angry.

Kiri was shakily aiming a gun at Chase, who was aiming a gun at Trowa. Trowa was on the floor, unarmed and watching Kiri, unable to help her. Chase was talking.

"I think letting your other friends live was a mistake. And I learn from my mistakes."

Duo took aim as Chase aimed at Trowa's head.

The shot rang through the hallway, momentarily deafening everyone as time stood still. Chase stared past Kiri at Duo. Duo could tell Chase hadn't expected any other agents to show up. Blood welled up out of the hole in Chase's chest, staining his shirt. Chase fell to his knees and then collapsed on the ground in a heap. The rasp and gurgle that accompanied the lawyer's breathing told Duo that he'd punctured a lung. The man took a final gasping breath and then went completely limp. Duo skirted Kiri and checked to verify that Chase was dead before heading back over to check Trowa.

Duo knelt next to Trowa. "You okay?"

"I'll live," Trowa said. "Kiri's in shock." Trowa nodded towards the girl who was standing stock still, eyes wide, with Trowa's gun still aimed at where Chase had been standing.

Duo swore. "What should we do?"

"You'll need to take the gun away, but be careful. She'll be jumpy. You don't want her to accidentally shoot you."

"Yeah, I know," Duo said as he slowly stood. He approached Kiri cautiously, observing how her eyes were wide with disbelief and how her bottom lip started quivering. Her breath started coming faster. Duo carefully took the gun from her and she jumped. Her eyes looked at him, but didn't see him. They were filled with terror.

Duo felt bad. He hadn't meant to scare her.

"It's okay, kid," Duo said softly, trying to keep her calm. "It's okay."

Kiri burst into tears and covered her face with her hands.

"Kiri, it's okay…it's okay," Duo repeated as he wrapped her in his arms. "Calm down…it's okay. You're safe now, everything's going to be okay."

Kiri sobbed hysterically as Duo looked at Trowa, hoping to get some help. "What do we do now? She's not calming down."

Trowa attempted to get up but gasped as pain ripped through his shoulder every time he moved it. He suspected that one of the bullets was lodged next to a nerve cluster. He'd have to be careful until he got it looked at or risk permanent damage. For now, the bullets were preventing too much blood loss by plugging the hole they'd created, which was something to his favor. He really didn't want to dislodge them before he got to a medic. If he lost too much blood he wouldn't be of any use to anyone. He settled for leaning back against the wall.

"See if you can get her to sit," Trowa told Duo, gesturing to the floor next to him. "Maybe I can get her to calm down."

Duo carefully but firmly forced Kiri to sit down next to Trowa and let the Heavyarms pilot take over.

Trowa put his good arm around Kiri and spoke softly to her. "Everything's going to be okay, Kiri. Just relax…it's all right."

Trying to calm Kiri down was like reassuring a tiger that he wasn't going to hurt it. He was certain that she didn't really understand anything he was saying but it was the tone that mattered. He repeatedly told her that everything was okay, that she wasn't in trouble, and that Cathy would be glad that Kiri could go back to the circus now.

"Trowa…check out her foot," Duo said quietly. He'd double checked to make sure Chase was really dead and then followed the trail of blood to Kiri. Her ankle was badly bruised and the top of her foot had been torn, resulting in a loose flap of skin in the shape of a horseshoe. Duo didn't know how it had happened but he was sure that the blood loss was adding to Kiri's shock.

Trowa looked at Kiri's foot and he had to fight not to react to it. He knew if he got upset Kiri would get even more worked up. "We need to get her to Sally. That needs stitching. Her arm's bleeding, too."

Duo nodded. "I'll get Heero and we can carry her out of here."

It only took a moment for the Deathscythe pilot to hunt down the Wing pilot and explain what had happened with Kiri.

"What's your status, Trowa?" Heero asked as he approached. Kiri was still crying so Heero didn't need to guess what her status was.

"Gunshot wounds to the shoulder. He was pretty accurate, they feel close enough together that it probably looks like he only hit me once. I'll live but I can feel the bullets still lodged there so I have to be careful how I move."

Heero nodded. "A medical transport is on the way. Can you keep Kiri calm until then?"

Trowa nodded. Kiri's tears were slowing and Trowa just hoped she wouldn't shut down.

"You two stay here while I try to find Quatre and Wufei. Duo, cover them." Heero started to walk away.

"Wait."

All three Gundam pilots looked down at Kiri in surprise. None of them had expected her to speak up.

"Th-they're down that hallway." Kiri pointed a finger back the way she had come from. They could tell from the splatters of blood on the floor. "He…had them chained up," she added.

Heero looked at Duo. "You get them, then."

Duo grinned. Everyone knew he was the fastest at picking locks. He darted down the hall, following the trail Kiri left for him to follow. The S&M joke he was going to make died on his lips when he saw the condition Quatre and Wufei were in.

"Geez…what did he do to you guys?" Duo asked as he started undoing the shackles on Quatre's wrists.

"Probably the same thing he's been doing to Kiri for years," Quatre spat out bitterly. "We have to make him stop for good." The emotions coming from this location were making him grumpy, to say the least. He didn't want to spend an instant longer in this den of hatred than was absolutely necessary.

Wufei nodded his agreement, wincing as the movement caused his head to ache. He was going to need an aspirin.

"You don't gotta worry about him anymore," Duo said as he finished the restraints around Quatre's feet and moved to release Wufei. "He's worm food."

"Do you know where Kiri is?" Quatre asked as he rubbed his wrists and ankles trying to get the circulation going again.

"She's with Trowa. I shot Chase right in front of her and it startled her. Do you guys know how she hurt her foot?" Duo got the last lock undone on Wufei's shackles and stood up to look around the room.

"She forced her foot out of this," Quatre said, lifting the restraint that had held Kiri captive. The hole looked way too small for Kiri to have been able to squeeze out of it but somehow she'd managed. Quatre wondered if she'd broken some of the bones in her foot in the process.

Duo swore. "No wonder her foot looks so bad. Come on, we gotta help Heero get Trowa and Kiri out to the medics."

"What happened to Trowa?" Wufei asked as they headed out into the hallway.

"He got shot a couple of times. He says he'll be fine but I think Sally's gonna pitch a fit when she sees his shoulder. It's pretty messed up. Not as bad as Kiri's foot, but still pretty bad."

Heero knelt down so he could look Kiri in the eyes. "Anything else I ought to know about this place?"

Kiri didn't look at him. "I don't know," she whispered. "I've never been here before."

Heero turned to see what she was staring at. Chase's body was still splayed on the floor and it was upsetting her. He wondered if he should move Kiri now instead of waiting for Duo to return with the others. She needed to stay functional.

Heero looked at Trowa. "Do you think you can move on your own or will we need to carry you?"

Trowa looked down at Kiri, who was still fixated on Chase's body, to see if she was paying attention before he answered Heero. "To be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to move on my own. I'll have to go slowly either way. I don't want to do permanent damage to my shoulder and I think I'll need help stabilizing it while I walk."

Heero nodded and looked at Kiri again. "What about her?"

Trowa shook his head. "I don't think it's wise to make her walk on that foot. On the other hand the pain might keep her from zoning out at least until we can get her into an ambulance."

Heero looked back at Trowa. "But you still think making her walk is a bad idea, don't you?"

Trowa nodded. "She's been through enough today, don't you think? She's in shock, Heero."

Heero looked back at Kiri. She hadn't moved a muscle since he'd looked at her last and she wasn't blinking. Heero moved directly into her line of sight, blocking Chase's body from view.

"Don't worry about him."

Heero frowned when Kiri didn't respond. Voices coming down the hall made him look back. He frowned even deeper when he saw the condition that Quatre and Wufei were in. The cuts and bruises on their faces looked worse in the harsh light of the hallway than they probably were, but they would still need to be looked at by a doctor.

Heero stood. "Are you two okay?"

Quatre nodded. "It's nothing serious. Is Kiri all right?"

Heero shook his head. "She needs medical attention."

"What about Trowa?" Wufei asked. "Duo said he had been shot."

"I'll live," Trowa said. "We should get Kiri out of here, though. Her foot really needs to be seen to."

Heero nodded and reached down to pull Kiri to her feet, belatedly remembering Trowa's suggestion that she not be forced to walk.

Kiri screamed and Heero dropped her arm in surprise. She fell to the ground, curled up in a ball, and cried.

"Heero! Why did you let her fall?" Quatre demanded as he rushed over to see if Kiri had hurt herself.

"I…I didn't mean to," Heero stammered out. "I didn't think she'd go limp like that just because her foot hurts."

"Chase kicked her in the ribs multiple times," Wufei told him. "I'd be surprised if none of them were broken."

Duo swore and knelt down next to Quatre, gently feeling Kiri's ribs. "This doesn't feel right to me, Heero. We gotta get her outta here now."

"Duo can you help Trowa? I'll carry Kiri. Wufei and Quatre, can you guys get the doors and help Duo with Trowa?"

The others nodded and Heero scooped Kiri up into his arms. He felt awful about letting her fall. He'd had no idea that her ribs were injured. Kiri continued to cry and shiver in his arms.

As they exited building, Wufei moved to help Duo with Trowa while Quatre stuck close to Heero and Kiri. He wanted to be close by in case she needed him to "interpret" for her until she could communicate for herself.

Once they reached the ambulances Heero picked one and set Kiri down as gently as he could onto a stretcher. She curled up and kept crying while he found a blanket to put over her.

"I'm going to find Sally," Heero told Quatre quietly. "Stay here with her and make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

Wufei, Duo, and Trowa made for the second ambulance. Sally was inside.

"What's the damage?" Sally asked as Trowa sat gingerly on the stretcher.

"Got shot. Take care of Kiri first," he told her.

Sally rolled her eyes. "Let me decide who needs to be seen to first." She started to pull at his blood-stained shirt so she could see the wound but he jerked his arm away from her with a hiss.

"I said see to Kiri first. I can wait," Trowa growled.

Sally scowled. "Let me look, you stubborn ass. If you lose the use of your arm—"

"I don't care if I lose my whole arm. Kiri is in bad shape."

"He's not wrong, Sally," Wufei told her when she looked like she was going to argue with Trowa again. "We'll make sure Trowa doesn't damage himself further while you check on Kiri."

"Fine. Wufei, see if he'll let you assess and treat the damage while I'm gone."

Just as she was about to leave the ambulance, Heero showed up at the door.

"Sally, Kiri needs to be seen to. Can you come?"

"Lead the way," Sally said, gesturing for him to start walking.