Disclaimer: refer to chapter one. I don't want to make money off this…blah
blah blah…don't sue me…blah. Ah well, a great many of you may have thought
I had stopped writing or dropped off the face of the planet, but NO SUCH
LUCK!! ^^ I'm back and taking up internet space with my insanity. This is
another one of those less informative chapters…which means occasional
explosions and violence. Ah, it's wonderful. But anyway, I will really,
really try to get out the next chapter soon! And maybe try to make it a
reasonable length for once…anyways, ENJOY!!
CHAPTER 8: TANGLED
She sat behind her computer and adjusted her glasses, hoping that by the sheer power of will she could banish the paperwork from her desk. It didn't work. She sighed and lifted a pen. She paused one last time, hoping merely to make the paper spontaneously combust. It still didn't work.
Sarena squared her shoulders and was just settling down into 'secretary mode' when the revolving doors in the lobby swung about. She glanced up from her desk across the glossy tiled floor.
The pen paused.
'Oh my, what is this I see? Who is that coming through the door?'
Work at the Gahlfman Center, supposedly one of the more high-class workplaces, was somewhat boring. Ok, it was as interesting as an empty room with white walls. But she had spent a lot of time in school to get here to this secretarial position, and she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The Center held a fair amount of secret information, but what she dealt with down here was just office listings, numbers, and appointments. There was nothing like paperwork to make you feel more like a useless drone.
This one coming across the floor here, he was definitely more interesting than paperwork. In fact, screw the paperwork. He was the only person she had seen so far who made the charcoal grey security uniforms here look good. Then again, he wasn't forty and balding or creepy and silent like so many of the unfortunate souls currently employed. The new ones especially were cold and their eyes made her flesh crawl. One of them had strange honey coloured ones, almost amber.
Sarena ran a hand self consciously through her short cropped hair and tried not to stare at the guy. His hair was brown and done up beneath a cap. He was halfway across the lobby and coming fast, with an easy, confident walk that could almost be called a strut. His hazel eyes had found hers, and he grinned at her.
Sarena felt her legs morph into a strange new form of human gelatin. The guy was too hot for his own good.
Waaay too hot. Anything that came out of her mouth from this point on would be unforgivably stupid.
"Hi," he said, leaning both elbows on the edge of her desk. His smile was, for lack of a better word, bewitching. "Do you have a Logan Grey on your list?"
"I don't know, do you want me to add you on?" Sarena smiled.
"It depends a lot on what the requirements for the job are."
"And what job would that be?"
"I think you know, Miss Derson," he said, his eyes flashing to her nametag.
"You can call me Sarena, Mr. Grey." She felt her cheeks getting warm and hoped it didn't show. She found his name in her book. "Here you are. The position for head of security is ready for the taking."
"Thank you…Sarena." God, his smile could melt a cement block.
"Hope we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
"And why is that? Do you like something about me?"
"I like a lot of things about you, Logan. I like the way your pants fit."
"Is that so, Miss Sarena?" He laughed, his hazel eyes warm and huge. Her face was really warm now. He stood and made a little flick of his hand.
"I'll be seeing you around, babe."
Logan Grey turned and walked away to the elevators. Sarena watched him go, enjoying her view immensely. That stride was priceless. And that ass…The elevator opened for him on command and he stepped inside. His eyes found hers as the doors began to close, and his crooked grin made her knees once again turn to mush. As the doors closed, he winked.
The lights above the elevator changed to Floor 2 and kept going up. She returned her treacherous mind to the paperwork and appointments of the day as the elevator made its ascent to the top floors. But in her mind's eye, she saw his smile, and she mentally slapped herself.
This guy was trouble, with a capital T. But oh, what trouble he would be.
As the elevator stopped, she realized that he almost fit the descriptions of one of the persons on the list she had been given. She went cold, and then remembered: hazel eyes.
***
Logan Grey walked quickly down the halls of the janitorial sector of the sixtieth floor. He had already checked in and through the security center and made introductions to the personnel. After that he'd excused himself to make a survey of his new territory, starting on the top floor. He came to a particularly deserted part of the hall and turned the corner.
There was a vent covering in the ceiling gone. Someone was crawling out of it with quick, fluid movements. A tall figure dropped to the ground.
In second he drew his gun and leveled his sights with the person's--no, the young man's head. He said firmly, "Don't move."
The figure froze for a moment.
He said, "This town ain't big enough for the two of us, hombre. You'd better give it up before I bludgeon you with spaghetti."
The young man turned.
"Duo, sometimes I wonder about you."
Duo laughed and holstered his gun. "I'm not the one running around in a clown outfit on my days off, Trowa."
Trowa ignored him. His green eyes were calm, as always, even though Duo searched them for signs of irritation. He sighed. "Have any trouble getting through?"
Trowa replaced the vent and slipped on a janitor's uniform. As he zipped it up, he said, "No. The vents are relatively unguarded. Everything has been set in motion."
"Alright. Get your mop and let's blow this pop-stand."
Trowa fixed him with a blank look. Duo grinned impishly. Trowa opened the janitor's closet and retrieved a broom. His eyes flashed over Duo's identification.
"Logan Grey?" Trowa said in his monotone voice that somehow managed to convey amusement.
"Yeah, don't you love those hacks at the Preventers? I ask them to give me an identity, and they give me one. I am proudly bearing the names of two X- men right now, thank you very much. Ah, I really do appreciate those fungus- like computer nerds in their basement…"
"I'll be sure to tell them that, Duo."
"Hey that's probably not such a good idea…I might be Mr. Butt-munch next time around."
"Oh I don't know, they might forgive you in a year or two."
"Trowa!"
"I'll be seeing you around, Mr. Grey."
"Hey wait! Can't we take a rain-check on that little bit of information?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"How much you'll help me at the circus."
"What!"
"Take it or leave it."
"Oh fine! But I'll get you one day, Trowa. Some day when you're not expecting it, I'll get you."
"Sure. Me and my broom are shaking."
"Have you been hanging out with Wufei again?"
Trowa uttered a small chuckle. They moved away into the framework of the sixtieth floor.
About five minutes later, the top floors blacked out and smoke began to fill the air in a thick cloud.
***
The fire alarm went off. Sarena jumped at her desk. The shrill screech filled the lobby and she covered her ears. What the hell is going on?!
She sat down at her computer, hands flashing across the keys. Almost immediately, numbers and letters came up.
Sixtieth floor, blackout in computer sectors, smoke, possible fire, possible security breach.
Her hands didn't stop moving.
First order of business: get the people out. Second: secure the area. Third: Try to put out the fire.
The warning had been sent. Her hands went still. Sarena sat for a moment at her desk, totally paralyzed with fear. The alarm shrilled in her ears.
She thought to herself, get to it. NOW.
***
Twenty minutes later, a crowd of people had formed outside of the Gahlfman Center. They were dressed in suits, skirts, and janitorial uniforms. Most of them looked distinctly frazzled, wide eyed and nervous. They were the evacuated personnel.
The ones that were not looking up at the sixtieth floor with frightened looks on their faces were either in shock or didn't care. Saze and his group were some of the latter. They were some of the special personnel that Sarena thought of as creepy. They were dressed in black, stood like soldiers, and had cold, unfeeling eyes. Saze himself was tall, with dirty blond hair and strange honey coloured eyes. He watched the smoke rising from the windows of the sixtieth floor with no expression. In his ear, a hidden communicator buzzed. His face revealed nothing as he was given his orders.
The rest of his group stood silently, waiting.
They had been ordered out by a young man named Grey who outranked them in their current positions. Saze would not have let himself be moved so easily under normal circumstances, but his orders were to avoid a disturbance. He almost felt as if this was not the right thing to have done, but he had left several good men inside with the security force as a precaution.
He turned back to his group and motioned for them to remain as they were. His eyes moved over the mob of people, standing unprotected, not knowing the implications of the smoke. Like cattle, he thought. His gaze passed over a green van with tinted windows parked down the street, over the frightened faces of his coworkers and then back to the smoke, indifferent.
[Quatre]
"Phase one, complete. Trowa has activated the jammers, used the canisters and successfully assumed janitor position. Duo has infiltrated as a security officer. The building has been evacuated of all personnel except for guards, security, and some special services people. The sixtieth floor is vacant and still smoking. No police have been contacted. The elevators will be stopped in about six minutes. Confirm?"
There was a slight pause.
Quatre glanced up from his laptop, which displayed the structural layout of the building, complete with two blinking dots. The dots were labeled 02 and 03.
The open frequency crackled slightly.
"Diablo, confirmed, and Bozo the Clown does too. Ready to begin Phase two, Mr. Fantastic Four?"
"Waiting for further response, 02." Quatre smiled.
"Alrighty."
There was another pause.
"01, confirmed."
"05, confirmed."
"R-10, confirmed."
Quatre's hands moved over the keys of his computer. He spoke into his headset.
"Everyone has been confirmed. We are in position. We will change frequencies in twenty minutes. Begin Phase Two. And be careful, guys."
[Relena]
She stared into the night. She glanced over to where Hilde lay, dozing. She was looking better but she was still so pale. A little smile curved Relena's lips. Hilde herself would likely comment that in some cultures it was more attractive to be pale, so she was saving money on cosmetics.
The sky was overcast tonight. No stars, no moon, just a pressing grey blue. Relena thought of the paperwork she was avoiding by being here at Onyx Five, but that was easily shoved aside as her eyes traveled to the IV. The silence was broken only by the gentle sound of Hilde's breathing.
Relena's eyes moved to the window again, looking out over the wan yellow lights of the city. It seemed shrouded in shadow. Like so many things.
She sighed and stretched her legs. It's best not to think like that, she told herself. The pilots will be fine. They've done missions like this and harder before.
But that thought led to more unease. 'They have never been with Xiran Ki'Era before. They have never faced genetically altered soldiers. They've never gone into a situation as blind as they are now.'
The events of the morning slipped through her mind almost involuntarily. Heero had called to tell her that Duo wanted her to come and stay with Hilde, to which she agreed. Then he had said that they had decided to take Xiran with them. 'Why?' She had said. His pause had been long. 'I just thought you would like to know.'
'Take care,' she had whispered.
'I will.'
Relena quieted her mind. They—he—will be perfectly fine. Besides, worrying won't solve anything. Relena closed her eyes and drew a steady breath, her face becoming composed. Be strong for Hilde…for yourself. Heero's face flashed into her mind again, cold, unfeeling. Relena's own countenance twisted for a split second. 'Just let go, let go, don't do it like this. He doesn't need you, don't cling to the past.' Relena's hands clenched in her lap. 'Useless, unable to help, a foolish girl who meddled where she shouldn't have. Let the memories go. Let him go.'
Her eyes closed. His face was still there, but this time, his eyes were weary, lost, like they had been the last day of Mariemaia's war, when he had collapsed into her arms. Oh Heero, there is so much in your eyes.
She looked down at her hands in her lap and slowly uncurled them. She drew another steadying breath and her gaze traveled to the bed.
Hilde's eyes were open. Their gazes met.
Relena forced a reassuring smile for her friend. Hilde's eyes were dark and questioning. She said, "Are you all right?"
Relena smiled.
She thought, it is like we're at war again. We are the widows, waiting for their loved ones to come home. She took Hilde's hand, and Hilde squeezed it.
"I'm fine."
The clock on the wall read 7:43.
[Wufei]
He wanted to get in and out of here as quickly as possible. Enemy territory was not a good place to loiter, even if you did outclass them. Wufei sat behind the wheel of the truck and maneuvered towards the Gahlfman Center, thinking with deep misgiving about the disguise he was wearing. Ignoring the bland beige colour of the uniform, there wasn't much physical change. He had pointedly refused to become a bleach blond Chinese, but he couldn't get away from the other aspects. He glanced at himself in the rearview and shuddered. Blue eyes stared back at him. The wig on his head was a black mop with reddish highlights. I look like a side show freak, he thought in disgust. They're bakas, one and all. But then again…he glanced at the backseat and a satisfied smiled curved his lips.
Sure makes this a mission to remember.
[Xiran]
They sliced quickly and efficiently through the crowd, the frazzled business personnel easily letting them through. Heads barely turned to look as they passed by. Xiran was glad for the cover of the crowd, and her eyes scanned the backs of heads as she moved with the other two. Almost to the doors now, she let her gaze pass over the peripheral edge of the crowd—stop.
Her step didn't falter. Her eyes focused on the back of his head as she passed other people. 'Saze. It's Saze. Shit, why did it have to be Saze?'
His back was turned to her and she was glad of it. Even with her disguise and her concealed scent, he would surely spot her. And then…he would summon the rest. A massacre might ensue on this peaceful suburban street. She moved so that she walked in stride with Heero. His grey eyes flicked over to hers. For a split second she remembered how surprised she had been when he first put the contacts in…how much the dark grey made him seem so utterly remote. She must have been staring at him. He'd finally cracked the briefest of smiles and asked, do I look that bad?
Xiran blinked the present back into focus. She made a slight movement with her head towards Saze's turned back. Heero's eyes moved.
Saze's dirty blond head turned. He began to look towards them, his honey coloured eyes coming to rest on hers, surely in recognition. She felt his gaze. She remembered his voice: 'why fight like this? Must you challenge everything I say. I'm only trying to help you. I don't want to make this harder. It's only a mobile suit.' Amber eyes…no, ones like honey. Those eyes that looked straight into hers and…didn't change. Xiran let her eyes slide from him normally.
They passed into the shadow of the building a few seconds later and no one took notice of the blue-eyed Chinese, the black haired boy, and the blond- haired girl dressed in beige uniforms.
[Saze]
"Mechanics."
Saze spoke the word aloud as he heard it from his headset. He watched them move into the building. The secretary with brown eyes, Sarena, was talking to them. He supposed she was telling them where the problem was located. The young man named Grey was there too, with several officers. He motioned them to watch the entrance and then moved away to the elevators with the mechanics. Saze remembered the girl with the honey coloured hair. She had green eyes…eyes that held you in thrall but revealed nothing. Saze touched his communicator.
[Wufei]
The braided baka was actually doing a reasonable job of keeping the situation under control. The entrances were sealed, the sixtieth floor was cleared, and the security personnel were making routine sweeps. They would be on the lookout for anything suspicious, but the pilots weren't about to be leaving anything behind. Wufei had to admit it was well done.
The elevator hummed its way up to the top floor. The four of them were silent, faces composed, eyes not meeting. Wufei thought, well this really isn't the situation I pictured myself in when I agreed to this mission. He still got a kick out of the onna's hair. Blond was not her colour of choice. He firmly kept his mind away from another train of thought that always seemed to follow Xiran. Well, at least she didn't have blue eyes anymore.
The elevator stopped and opened. Trowa stood there with a backpack for each of them. Duo grinned, shook his braid out of his hat and said, "Let's do it."
'Shut up Maxwell.' Wufei thought irritably. 'Stop being so infernally happy!' He sighed and stepped out of the elevator. The corridors were shadowy and lit by emergency lights. Quatre had control over the electronics on this floor. No security cameras. He discarded the hideous wig with relief.
He glanced over to the new member of the party. Xiran's green eyes had a feral look to them that Wufei hadn't seen before. She glanced his way as if she had felt his eyes on her. A faint half-smile lifted her mouth and faded.
Wufei thought, this is a test you must pass, Xiran Ki'Era. It's time to play at full strength. I won't hold back…and neither will you. The question of your motives will be answered today.
Wufei lifted a gun out of one of the packs, and his mind whispered suddenly, But at what cost?
[Trowa]
Quatre's voice was in his ear. Its sound was oddly comforting. Trowa knew they were in good hands with Quatre commanding them from his safe position in the van. The frequency shifted with a bit of static and his voice came over the airwaves.
"Okay guys—sorry, R-10. This mission has got to be quick. Everyone, fan out and move to your stations. Search the data files for anything that might be interesting. When or if you find something, contact me and we'll pull out to office room 6218. You know what to do if something happens."
"Right Quatre, we've got you," Heero said. His slate grey eyes flashed over all of them. They moved out.
Trowa found himself in an office that reminded him of Lady Une's. It had a great view, and an expensive mahogany desk, outfitted with a top notch computer. Trowa locked the door and began riffling through the files in the cabinet. Finding nothing there, he proceeded to tear the room apart. Several minutes later, he was at the computer, the light reflecting in his green eyes. Files upon files of information, but nothing of use. Trowa sat back and sighed. His eyes moved up to the ceiling and along the paneling. His eyes traveled along an apparent fault in the paneling until they reached the wall. But it didn't stop there. Trowa sat up with a jerk. A secret door. Should have thought of that one.
He quickly found the switch, a knob in the floor, and the door slid open. In the darkness beyond was the glint of computer screens and electronics. One of Trowa's rare smiles crossed his face. "Now we're in business," he whispered.
"Quatre."
"Yes."
"I have what we need."
"So fast?"
Trowa smiled again.
"Yes. It was in a secret room. I've downloaded it to a chip and straightened my mess. Phase Two is complete."
"Alright. Initiating Phase Three."
***
He moved down the shadowed halls of floor level sixty. His pale eyes almost seemed to glow in the semi-dark. The ones that were on the floor now had left their scents on the very air, and it was this intangible guide that he followed. There was one scent that bothered him, though. He bent and let his eyes half close. It was a scent that was too obvious, too patented to be real. But beneath it he could almost…
A sound in the hall. His eyes snapped open. He skittered on silent feet to another room, his eyes watching the grey eyed man far down the hall. His hand touched the gun at his hip. It wasn't very far from his communicator. He flicked it on.
"Saze, be on your guard. Contact the superior. We may have pilots on our hands."
[Heero]
Room 6218. A storage room with a penthouse view. Ah, luxury for the rich.
Well, he was happy with what he had. Which at this point really wasn't very much, but he was ready to build on it. Heero closed the carabeener on his harness with a click and twisted it tight. He was going to go down first.
Across the room, Duo was gathering up the thick climbing ropes to slide them through the anchors located at the window. Those things, with their yards of coil, had been stored in a closet in the very room, put there by a trusted Preventer lackey. Duo tossed a glance Heero's way and winced. Heero raised an eyebrow. Duo only shook his head.
"That sure as hell looks mighty uncomfortable, buddy." He shuddered. "I HATE these things!"
Heero glanced down. He glanced back up.
"You do know that this strap crosses here, and then is pulled back through here, right?"
Duo glowered at him, and then his expression changed to one of smugness.
"Well maybe you don't have problems in that department. They only called you the Perfect 'Soldier' right?"
He grinned.
Heero's grey eyes went from shocked to annoyed very quickly. "Duo—"
A small muffled laugh from across the room. Xiran, evidently the third to arrive, had her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks slowly reddened as two pairs of eyes turned to her. "Uh, what? I must have come in at a weird part in that conversation…"
"Yeah, see, we were discussing these here climbing harnesses. You see how they come across here at crotch level? Yes, well they create an interesting sort of pinch there that can raise your voice an octave or two and Heero, well he doesn't—"
"Duo, I will hurt you."
"What? Do you have anything to hide, Heero? I thin—"
"Stop! I don't think I want to know any more!" Xiran protested.
"Suuure you do—gack!"
Duo was reeled in by his hair by an extremely irritated Wufei. He gave him a hard look and said, "You know Maxwell, people always overcompensate for something they don't have."
At this point, while surprise slowly spread itself over Duo's face, Trowa entered. Duo began protesting Wufei's statement rather loudly. Trowa held up the chip. Wufei yanked Duo's hair.
"Shut up, you overcaffinated freak."
"Ouuch, a low blow from the Wu-man!"
"I could go lower, but I don't want to undermine my dignity."
"Oh yeah?"
Heero gave them both glares with his steel eyes and they shut up.
Trowa nodded in Heero's direction. He said, "Alright now we're in the next phase, because I've got the chip. Rappelling out is our safest route at the moment. Here, take the gloves." He took leather gloves from his pack and tossed a pair to them all. "Quatre's disabled the elevators and blocked the electronic doors throughout the building. He's going to set off a small alarm on the thirtieth floor as a distraction when we're ready."
Heero glanced over to Xiran. Her face had the same motionless, impassive look as when she had killed the soldiers. Her green eyes made her seem that much more feline, and strangely savage. As he watched, her hands moved over her gun, checking it. His eyes moved again to her face, seeing nothing. He remembered Relena eyes as she said, I would rather have my hands soaked in the blood of Oz!
He shook himself.
He thought, everything is going according to plan. There's nothing to worry about. Xiran looked up at him and her bright eyes seemed to stare straight through him. Her face softened slightly. She said, "Nothing to worry about." But then her face resumed its hard look.
"Yet."
***
He stopped dead in the hall, his pale eyes open wide. The scent had come strong for a second, had filled his mind with all sorts of information, and then passed. He bent and touched a palm to the floor, his other going to his gun.
"I know that scent…"
[Duo]
He was glad he was not afraid of heights. Sure, he was afraid of falling but he was sure glad at this moment that he was not afraid of heights. He climbed out onto the wide, rectangular window of the storage office. Balancing himself securely, he started clipping the carabeeners into the climbing anchors he had secured to the top of the cement window. Their position would stop the ropes from grating against the windowsill. For a moment he paused and clung there, feeling the light wind ruffle his hair. He heard the evening hum of the city behind him, and thought of Hilde.
[Xiran]
'Patience, patience. Patience is a virtue. Remember that.' She watched as Heero slid his rope through his carabeenrs and made final checks on his harness, smiling to herself. The harness supported the waist and looped around the tops of the legs, and was secured in front, at near crotch level. It really did look rather…uncomfortable. She muttered to herself, "Sometimes I truly do love being female."
Xiran watched Duo climb out the window and stand on the sill, his hands working on the anchors above his head.
She went and took the stance near the massive file cabinet they were using as a base anchor. It was metal and six feet tall, ten feet wide. The thing was practically the size of a Hummer. She herself was going to be the human anchor if anything went wrong. She had a specially knotted rope attached to the back of her harness that she would clip to the base anchor if anything happened. Assuming someone was falling, and were already attached to their rope, she would clip herself to the base, take the carabeener at the front of her harness and clip it to their rope and then do her damnedest to stop their fall. She would be the last person to rappel out if nothing happened. She watched as Trowa and Wufei gathered equipment and began to suit up. They were so at ease with what they were doing. It reminded her that even they, who seemed so kind and funny, were trained soldiers. Her eyes moved unbidden to Heero.
A sound.
Her head turned sharply in the direction of the hall. Her senses sharpened like knives.
Images and possibilities snapped through her head. A sniper or silencer?
Paranoia?
She listened again. Silence except for Wufei and Trowa suiting up.
*Your senses are your weapons. Use them, and use them well. Be true to your nature and do not doubt them.
There's nothing, there, sir.
Is that what your mind says, or is that what you want to believe?
It's what my mind says, Saze.
If you let your mind lie, your actions mean nothing.*
No. There was nothing there. Let those demons lie dead. Xiran began to move again.
Then all at once there were pale eyes in the shadows that widened in recognition, a flash of grey. They were eyes she knew.
She screamed, "34!" At her back, she heard the pilots turn. Too slow!
The pale eyes streaked forward and his gun came up. Xiran's finger closed on the trigger of her weapon.
Gunfire shattered the air.
The pilots threw themselves to the side, but that wasn't where he was aiming. The one that was the most vulnerable was— Xiran didn't even have time to cry out.
The bullets slammed into the grey of Duo's uniform. Four impacts in the chest.
Xiran barely had time to register the horror before the force threw him out into space.
[Wufei]
Fuck the bastard! Wufei was up and running under the cover of Xiran's fire in seconds. He felt nothing, nothing, didn't let anything register. Nothing would register, except for the fact that he was going after the hybrid.
The seconds seemed to slow down. Wufei suddenly saw the situation clearly, impassively, saw Trowa rolling to get up, his green eyes as blank as ever, saw Xiran on the ground firing, her face in a state of such intensity it was frightening, saw Heero, his flat grey eyes shocked and filling with something, and saw finally the empty open window. 'Stupid baka! You always said you were the god of death!'
Wufei's gaze turned to Xiran's and their eyes locked for a long millisecond. Then Wufei raced down the hall after the retreating hybrid.
[Duo]
He was over and falling before he could cry out. Head first towards the pavement sixty stories below. The wind screamed past him. The grey streets below rushed up to meet him. He thought placidly, I'm dead… I'm dead. No, I'm a splatter on the sidewalk. Well I hope they have a damn hard time scraping me off!
[Heero]
A split second after Duo went over Heero was ready. His mind had moved with the speed and precision of a computer, calculating, assessing. Now he was ready.
Straight into Xiran's flaring eyes he looked. Grey on green, blue on blue. Understanding snapped into them in an instant. She cried, "GO!" and grabbed his rope as he jumped out the window.
[Wufei]
Feet pounding the floor. He ran like a wolf, swift, silent, deadly. The hybrid was a corner ahead of him and somehow managing to pull away. Well if he thought he was getting away from Chang Wufei on this night, he was sadly mistaken.
He rounded the corner on full speed, seeing the hybrid down the hall trying to get into a room. Bad idea, Wufei thought. He opened fire. The hybrid jerked around and returned fire while trying to run. One hand went down to something at his waist. Communication device?
The hybrid screamed something into it.
1 'You won't get a chance to use it a second time!'
Wufei leaped into the air and rebounded off the wall, his aim as unwavering as the look in his eyes. The hybrid jerked with the bullets, pale eyes widening. He still managed to stagger to the elevator doors. He collapsed against the doors, blood streaking the metal surface. Wufei stood over him, breathing hard. He kicked the gun away. He said coldly, "Who did you contact?"
The hybrid numbered 34 looked up at him, said, "The time has come for the end to come to the beginning," and clenched his hand around something on his wrist. His eyes rolled back in his head and he died.
[Duo]
This is going to be extremely unpleasant.
His chest was just started to register the pain of the impacts. He couldn't breathe. 'Why can't I breathe? Ah well it doesn't matter, I'll be dead in a minute anyway.'
He got ready to close his eyes.
There was a sudden jerk on his foot. He looked up into Heero's grey eyes, coldly intense, his hair whipping about his face. Heero said, "Hold on! We're getting out of here!"
[Xiran]
The line coiled rapidly out the window. Second by second, meter by meter. Xiran, now anchored to the cabinet, braced herself for the friction. 'Where the hell was Wufei?'
Trowa at the window, yelled, "He's got him! They're in position!"
"Wufei!" Xiran called desperately. She closed her hands on the strand of fire sliding through her palm. Wufei entered the room and lunged for the rope. Trowa appeared behind him and as one, they tried to slow the freefall of their two comrades. The rope rasped through their gloved hands, the heat of the friction rising until it burned. Hold! Xiran thought desperately. Hold!
The rope was agony, their hands were being shredded, but the end of the rope was coming and they had to stop it. Trowa, Wufei, and Xiran strained with all their strength as Duo and Heero plummeted towards the sidewalk.
[Heero]
The pavement was coming and they were going to have a very messy meeting with it. Their descent was slowing but not fast enough for comfort. Heero had himself braced for when the rope would stop, facing towards the window above with his feet towards the building. Duo was clinging behind him, his own harness clipped to the back of Heero's. Heero hoped it would be enough. Prayed that it would be enough.
The stories flashed by. Level forty. Thirty.
No miracle happened.
Twenty five.
Time did not stop.
Twenty.
There was a jerk on the rope.
Fifteen.
They slowed. The wind grew quiet.
Ten.
They stopped.
Heero finally felt Duo's fingers digging into his shoulders, felt how much his eyes hurt, how much the harness was cutting into him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Ten stories below them, the sidewalk lay in a hard, unforgiving wall. Heero closed his eyes.
"Duo?"
"Oh my god I swear, I never, EVER want to do that again. I think my whole life flashed in front of my eyes! And really, when I reviewed, I haven't done some cool stuff yet. I haven't seen all seven wonders of the world! I haven't been to a crazy rock concert! I haven't participated in a hamburger eating contest! I haven't got married! I haven't even got LAID—"
"Duo, are you alright?"
"Well, I nearly pissed my pants, and I think I may be psychologically scarred, but yeah, I think I'm okay."
"How? You got shot!"
"Oh that? I have a bulletproof vest on. Comes with the security uniform. Duh."
Heero let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright. So now, how do we get back up?"
"Uhhhh…."
"That's what I thought."
[Quatre]
"What happened? He did what? Are they okay?" He had to force his voice to be steady. Trowa patiently waited for him to calm down.
"They're fine. Duo had a vest on. His ribs will be sore in the morning but he'll be okay. We used a counterweight to get them back up here. There's an office desk hanging out there now."
"It's securely anchored, I hope?"
"Of course."
"Are you guys ready to get out?"
"Yes. We're in your hands."
"Good. Because someone sounded the alarm, and the security forces are coming. There's also a chance that the hybrids in the building have moved out without my knowing. You have to move right now. All the elevators are stopped, no one can come up that way, but there are people moving up the stairs connecting each level. Be careful. I've jammed all the doors that I can. The side stairwell that runs all the way down the building should be clear. Move out into the hallway. The first door is open. Your best shot is to get down to the garage and out before security realizes exactly what's happened. The stairs lead all the way down to the underground parking lot."
"Understood. Are you safe?"
"A lot safer than you are. I'll be waiting."
[Heero]
"You baka! That took years off my life!" Xiran yelled at the braided boy as they pounded down the stairs.
"Years off YOUR life? I was the one who was gonna go splat!"
Heero gave him an amused look.
"And Heero too! Jeez, you worry too much." He grinned at her. She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I thought we were going to find both of you in pieces on the ground, Duo."
"But then we called in Heero, the human form of duct tape. When there's something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call? Call Heero! Duh duh duh duh..."
Heero chuckled as Duo continued to sing the Ghostbusters theme. He looked at Xiran. He said quietly, "And we had you holding the rope."
She smiled a little and said nothing. He held her gaze for a long moment. Her eyes were still green and strange, but he read the relief and gratitude on her face. A tiny knowing smile touched his face and passed.
They both turned their attentions to running. It was going to be a long way down.
Jumping from level to level was faster but harder, so they alternated between that and running. They passed floor level 49 without breaking a sweat, but Heero knew they were really conserving energy for the long haul.
He figured Duo was probably having a more difficult time, but they couldn't do anything to help him. Heero hoped he would have the stamina to keep going. They passed stairs upon stairs and doors upon doors as they spiraled down into the bowels of the building. Eventually he wasn't even concentrating on his surroundings, he was just running. Duo, obviously experiencing the same thing, was of course, bored.
"Wouldn't it be cool if this was a really big waterslide and we could all slide down going weeeeeee?"
"It's been said before Maxwell...Don't Do Drugs. They're bad for you."
"That's right Wufei...you just keep telling yourself that."
"And to think I always wondered why you had so little brain cells..."
"I'd rather be born with less brain cells than be born with a POLE UP MY-"
"Okay that's enough. Do I have to separate you two?"
"But Heero..."
Trowa said up ahead, "Three words, Duo. We. Don't. Care. Just run."
Duo threw up his hands. "Hey! Be nicer to the almost splattered guy! I've had a near death experience already today!"
"Such a shame. It really didn't change your outlook on life much..."
"Oh, like you weren't worried, Wufei."
"No."
"I know you were, don't try to hide it. You're a bad liar. You'd better not have any affairs when you get married or you're toast."
"Maxwell..." Wufei growled.
"Okay, that's it! You, over here, you over there! We still have forty more stories to go!" This time it was Xiran, sounding amused but exasperated.
Heero smiled to himself. Ah, Duo. Always a guaranteed goofball.
Heero had barely had time to think when Duo had been shot. All his mind registered was that he was gone and falling. Immediately after that came the plan to save him. After that he really didn't think, he just moved with the one motivation to get to Duo in time.
Heero watched Duo as he ran, his long braid bouncing. He'd never expected that he could like the loud mouthed American boy as much as he did. His thoughts, following that tangent, brought up an image that also lived in his mind. Blond hair, blue eyes. Relena. The sight of her back as she stood defiantly between him and his attacker, Duo. And then Zechs. And then when she had been kidnapped, the same action he'd felt with Duo had kicked in, and he had gone to help her. He remembered her as she stood tall and watched his Gundam's arm come straight at her, somehow knowing that he couldn't bring himself to kill her. Xiran's face flashed in his mind.
Heero blinked and the grey cement of the stairway reappeared in his vision. He sighed. Still thirty more levels to go, with no distraction except his thoughts. Great. Super. Hopefully Duo would start chattering again.
Level twenty seven.
His legs were starting to burn uncomfortably.
"Better than a Stairmaster!" Duo exclaimed suddenly.
"Yeah yeah...we know," Trowa said dryly.
"You know, I think if we'd started the Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the wall song on the top floor, we'd have finished it by now."
"Likely."
"You really don't care, do you?"
"No."
"That's what I thought."
"Duo, more breath for running, less for talking," Wufei muttered.
"Well it's certainly not my fault your brain needs no stimulation. Go meditate in your corner."
"You know, if you rolled down the rest of the stairs, you might get there faster."
"Sure. I'd only be so much more dead."
"Like I said, what a shame."
"Would you both stop that?" Xiran said, with a surprising amount of irritation in her voice. Duo gave her a surprised look. Heero glanced at her. Her eyes had that closed look again. She was looking at the nearest elevator door. "Quatre, how are we doing? We're nearing the 19th floor now."
Quatre's voice came into all their ears. "The bulk of security is going in the opposite direction you are, up the main stairs to the sixtieth floor. But there are some people who are searching the other floors. The building is in basic lockdown."
"Quatre," Xiran broke in, "Where is the group of security personnel in black who were outside the front doors?"
"They split into two and one group went back inside."
Heero was watching her eyes.
"Hybrid soldiers?"
"Yes."
Duo's violet eyes were intently fixed on Xiran. He said, "Shit. I sure as hell hope you didn't hear something in those shafts, Xi." Heero silently agreed.
They continued to the tenth floor.
By this time, even Heero was sweating. Duo's face was a little paler than it should have been, and the others were all looking a little strained. The pounding of the stairs now seemed like a strange and monotonous chorus of drums.
"So...close...yet so far," Duo said, his face pinched.
"So close..." Xiran echoed.
"Come on guys, you can do it! Only six floors to go now."
"Do us a favour, Quatre," Trowa said as calmly as ever, "and don't be so positive."
Quatre's gentle laugh seemed to reverberate in Heero's brain.
They rounded the curve on the fifth floor and Xiran suddenly fell back. Heero slowed as well.
"What is it?"
Her face drained of emotion, leaving her green eyes the only human part of her.
They turned onto the fourth floor. Xiran's eyes were intently focused on a door up ahead. She said in a whisper, "The elevator shaft."
Heero's grey eyes widened and he said quickly, "Quatre, check the surveillance in the shafts."
"...there isn't any." Quatre's voice was uneasy.
"Should there be?"
There was a pause. "Yes."
The other pilots had slowed. "There's someone in the elevator shafts?"Wufei asked.
"Not sure," Heero said. Xiran's face was still blank. She said, "Saze..."
They rounded the corner of floor level three.
With a small sound, the silvery metal of the elevator doors on level two began to open. Trowa was the first one to see and said, "Doors!"
Xiran drew her gun and said, "Hurry. Get to the garage. Now!"
They only hesitated for a half second. Then they ran.
Trowa, Wufei and Duo rounded the steps in front of the shaft at a dead run and kept going. Xiran dropped to her knees and fired up into the shaft as she slid past it. Heero, on her heels, leaped at the door controls.
"Quatre," he yelled, "Close the door on level two! Close it!"
Quatre's voice came into his ear, small and tinny compared the the sound of Xiran's gun. "Use manual override!"
Heero looked at the panel.
Beside him, answering fire echoed up the shaft, the sound bouncing hollowly off the walls. Xiran rolled and fired some more, the crack of the gun amplified by the shaft. "Fifteen!" She panted, her eyes never leaving the darkness of the door. "More coming." They looked at each other.
Heero took one more look at the panel. Then he smashed it. The doors short circuited and began to grind shut.
He drew his gun and stood next to her. He caught movement up in the shaft and fired. The skittering sounds echoing in the darkness sounded like spiders.
He radioed to Quatre. "Keep the doors shut or we'll be overwhelmed."
"Trying."
The doors shuddered within a foot of closing and stopped. Xiran swore. Heero said, "Can you see them?"
"Yes." Her eyes probed the darkness. She suddenly yanked him towards her. Muffled gunfire broke the silence and holes riddled the wall where he had stood.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
They stood for another long moment, closer than normal, eyes turned to the shadows. Heero's mind went through the possibilities of the hybrid attack. They could enter another floor above them and ambush from the stairs. They could enter beneath them. They could try to overwhelm them at the shaft. Or they could wait for them to run out of bullets. Heero looked down at the gun in his hand. There was half a magazine left. Both him and Xi had two extra. It wasn't a lot.
Xiran suddenly turned to him, her face motionless. Her green eyes locked onto his. She knew what he'd been thinking. She said, "I can hold them off for now. They'll likely wait for my ammo to run out. Go, Heero."
He hesitated. Her eyes were strange. Quickly he dropped his magazines at her feet and said in a low voice, "Five minutes." Her eyes softened.
Sudden sounds in the shaft brought her about with gun raised. Her face resumed its cold look. Without looking at him, she said, "Go!"
He went.
The look she sent after him was uncertain. She turned her full attention back on the shaft, and a feral light surged in her eyes. The sounds of gunfire echoed into the night.
[Duo]
"Ah, the glories of having a government job," Duo sighed as he surveyed the extensive underground parking lot. Government cars, trucks, and motorcylces gleamed under the lights. He noted the guard's booth. There were also other guards standing at the entrances. The big doors leading out could close, but not quickly. He motioned to the others. They moved in under the cover of cars, while Duo stood up and strode confidently in the direction of the booth. The man there was forty and balding. He looked up with some surprise as Duo approached.
Duo waved. "Heya. My name is Logan Grey, current chief of security." Duo flashed his identification. "I'll be needing some transportation to take two witnesses in for questioning." The guard nodded, his gaze passing over him."Where are these two witnesses?...and how did they get down here?" His eyes moved over the bullet holes in Duo's uniform. Suspicion changed to understanding in his watery blue eyes. Simultaneously there was movement out of the corner of Duo's eye as Heero came sprinting down the stairs.
Oh great, Duo thought.
[Trowa]
Duo came strolling back to them flipping keys in his hand. As Heero approached, Trowa said, "How did you persuade the guard?"
Duo tossed each of them a key and began to open his mouth.
"He used his amazing people skills," Heero said, with a glance in the direction of the booth. Duo grinned.
"Ah," Trowa said, noting the guard propped in his booth. He almost looked as if he was sleeping--if you disregarded the swelling on his forehead.
"Yeah," Duo said with a shrug. "My fist has some great people skills."
Wufei rolled his eyes and said, "Baka."
They moved out quickly.
[Xiran]
Two magazines left.
The hybrids in the shaft had the cover of darkness, but the sound of their weapons was a big disadvantage in the small space. She was glad she couldn't see them entirely, only their flashing eyes and bare outlines in the black.
The spiderlike sounds of metal and claws scraping alerted her to a large number of them moving. So they were going to try the overwheming technique, were they? Xiran jammed a spare magazine in her pants and waited.
The scraping sounds became more violent, closer, and she whipped out her gun and fired at the multiple shapes clinging to the sides of the shaft. The spider sounds were punctuated with a scream. The sounds increased still, and Xiran thought, here they come...
Then they moved away.
Several seconds later there was no sound. No sound. Pressed to the metal of the door, she panted with her ear to the paneling. What could…
It came like the flash of a camera. A snapshot of the explosive taped to the paneling. But too late. She was thrown back and across the landing as the door exploded in a thunderous roar. Stairs jammed in her back as she rolled down the stairway.
2 'Goddamn stairs! Haven't you already caused me enough grief today?'
The world whirled with dizzying speed. She tried to stop, but she didn't know where to turn. Pain flared in her ribs, suffocating pain. Jolts as she passed more steps, jarring her skull.
3 'I really hate these stairs!'
Sudden stillness. Through the pounding in her head, she realized that she was lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. She couldn't tell if any bones were broken, she felt strangely numb.
I can't get up, she thought dully.
Her blue eyes narrowed. 'It is not going to end here at the bottom of these bloody goddamn stairs!' Her hands found the floor and slowly pushed her torso upright. She focused her eyes on the top of the landing. The idiots closed themselves in, she thought in amusement. The door was buried in chunks of cement fallen from the floor above. But they were still coming for her, and if they knew who she was, they would never stop. Xiran forced herself to get one knee up. Even that small effort made the blood pound in her temples.
They're coming, get up, get up! She drew in a sharp breath through her teeth.
'But where…where is he? Leaving me here would seem sloppy for the perfect soldier. He'll be coming…coming for me…
Maybe.'
Xiran gritted her teeth and stood. She swayed, her balance skewed, her head spinning.
She refused to let herself fall. Not here, not to be found by Saze. Her vision tilted. Her hands reached out for the floor that she knew was coming at her face.
Strong arms took her shoulders. Someone said her name urgently. Her eyes cleared.
Eyes the colour of fall storms looked into hers. For a moment she was within an inch of panic.
He said her name again, and memory and relief returned. The one holding her was Heero. She felt her strength leave her.
[Heero]
Her eyes snapped back to realization. He breathed a mental sigh of relief. She suddenly sagged against him, her eyes going cloudy again. He held her close, seeing with a little stab of fear the evidence of a bomb on the landing. "Xiran," he said sharply, more sharply than he'd intended. He heard her say, "Sorry...little woozy," against his chest. She lifted her eyes finally and stood a little shakily on her own. She'd be okay. But there was no time to stay here. Quatre said that the human security was zeroeing in on the bomb and the shooting, and there was no telling where the hybrids were. The rest of them might be right on the next level.
They hurried to where his motorcycle, so generously donated by the government, waited.
"Get on!" He said to her and straddled the motorcycle. Her arms clasped around him. He gunned the engine and tore out of there.
[Wufei]
Duo was really, really pressing his luck. He was waving at the security guards at the entrance as they accelerated out of the Gahlfman Center. Wufei thought with deep misgiving about the obviousness of their appearances. No, we're not specially trained soldiers trying to steal information. We're just a janitor, a security chief, and a bunch of mechanics. Sure.
The exit to the garage was at the back of the building and he was glad. At least then the office desk wouldn't have the chance to conveniently fall on them. With all their luck tonight, he really wouldn't have been surprised.
Through the comminicator in his ear, Quatre said, "Well I guess this is Phase Five, guys. You have successfully exited the center, and now all you have to do is make a clean getaway."
The pilots turned on to the main street and sped up, aiming for a base far in the deserted countryside.
Wufei said aloud, "We sure as hell aren't out of the woods yet."
Quatre's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts.
"Unknown group of persons in cars and on motorcycles have just moved out of an unmarked warehouse. The vehicles are also unmarked, blackmarket style. It's almost certainly the hybrids. They're moving down the main street. They're closing on—" His voice cut off with a burst of static. Wufei went cold. Next to him, Trowa's face turned white.
"Quatre?"
Static was the only answer.
[Relena]
She started from a light doze. She looked around for what had caused her to wake up, but could find nothing. Beside her, Hilde slept on, unawares. Relena turned her head to look out the window, to where the moon's light provided no solace in the unrelenting grey of the sky.
The clock on the wall read 9:56.
END
Oi, school has been eating my brain. Sorry for the lack of updates! Eh, procrastination is another one of those personal demons I'm in the process of beating. But whatever, sorry for this chapter's somewhat mediocre content. When school eats your brain, it only leaves minimal grey matter for Gundam obsessing.
This really wasn't even where I wanted to end this chapter, but I saw fit to cut it short because it was growing insanely long. Sigh, but I'm excited! Next chapter promises a food fight and some secrets unveiled! Six will make her second appearance. Are the pilots ready for what she has to say?
(and oooh, I'm one chapter closer to SEIGE! *jumps for joy* I can't wait to post it! So close yet so far…) Well enough ranting for one chapter. Thanks so much to those who reviewed! Seeress, Gailstorm, ShiverDragon, Turles, and my old buddy Shadowless (you have yet to find my Shadow shrine under my bed ^^) You guys are the best! Thank you so much!!
~Kywraith
CHAPTER 8: TANGLED
She sat behind her computer and adjusted her glasses, hoping that by the sheer power of will she could banish the paperwork from her desk. It didn't work. She sighed and lifted a pen. She paused one last time, hoping merely to make the paper spontaneously combust. It still didn't work.
Sarena squared her shoulders and was just settling down into 'secretary mode' when the revolving doors in the lobby swung about. She glanced up from her desk across the glossy tiled floor.
The pen paused.
'Oh my, what is this I see? Who is that coming through the door?'
Work at the Gahlfman Center, supposedly one of the more high-class workplaces, was somewhat boring. Ok, it was as interesting as an empty room with white walls. But she had spent a lot of time in school to get here to this secretarial position, and she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
The Center held a fair amount of secret information, but what she dealt with down here was just office listings, numbers, and appointments. There was nothing like paperwork to make you feel more like a useless drone.
This one coming across the floor here, he was definitely more interesting than paperwork. In fact, screw the paperwork. He was the only person she had seen so far who made the charcoal grey security uniforms here look good. Then again, he wasn't forty and balding or creepy and silent like so many of the unfortunate souls currently employed. The new ones especially were cold and their eyes made her flesh crawl. One of them had strange honey coloured ones, almost amber.
Sarena ran a hand self consciously through her short cropped hair and tried not to stare at the guy. His hair was brown and done up beneath a cap. He was halfway across the lobby and coming fast, with an easy, confident walk that could almost be called a strut. His hazel eyes had found hers, and he grinned at her.
Sarena felt her legs morph into a strange new form of human gelatin. The guy was too hot for his own good.
Waaay too hot. Anything that came out of her mouth from this point on would be unforgivably stupid.
"Hi," he said, leaning both elbows on the edge of her desk. His smile was, for lack of a better word, bewitching. "Do you have a Logan Grey on your list?"
"I don't know, do you want me to add you on?" Sarena smiled.
"It depends a lot on what the requirements for the job are."
"And what job would that be?"
"I think you know, Miss Derson," he said, his eyes flashing to her nametag.
"You can call me Sarena, Mr. Grey." She felt her cheeks getting warm and hoped it didn't show. She found his name in her book. "Here you are. The position for head of security is ready for the taking."
"Thank you…Sarena." God, his smile could melt a cement block.
"Hope we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
"And why is that? Do you like something about me?"
"I like a lot of things about you, Logan. I like the way your pants fit."
"Is that so, Miss Sarena?" He laughed, his hazel eyes warm and huge. Her face was really warm now. He stood and made a little flick of his hand.
"I'll be seeing you around, babe."
Logan Grey turned and walked away to the elevators. Sarena watched him go, enjoying her view immensely. That stride was priceless. And that ass…The elevator opened for him on command and he stepped inside. His eyes found hers as the doors began to close, and his crooked grin made her knees once again turn to mush. As the doors closed, he winked.
The lights above the elevator changed to Floor 2 and kept going up. She returned her treacherous mind to the paperwork and appointments of the day as the elevator made its ascent to the top floors. But in her mind's eye, she saw his smile, and she mentally slapped herself.
This guy was trouble, with a capital T. But oh, what trouble he would be.
As the elevator stopped, she realized that he almost fit the descriptions of one of the persons on the list she had been given. She went cold, and then remembered: hazel eyes.
***
Logan Grey walked quickly down the halls of the janitorial sector of the sixtieth floor. He had already checked in and through the security center and made introductions to the personnel. After that he'd excused himself to make a survey of his new territory, starting on the top floor. He came to a particularly deserted part of the hall and turned the corner.
There was a vent covering in the ceiling gone. Someone was crawling out of it with quick, fluid movements. A tall figure dropped to the ground.
In second he drew his gun and leveled his sights with the person's--no, the young man's head. He said firmly, "Don't move."
The figure froze for a moment.
He said, "This town ain't big enough for the two of us, hombre. You'd better give it up before I bludgeon you with spaghetti."
The young man turned.
"Duo, sometimes I wonder about you."
Duo laughed and holstered his gun. "I'm not the one running around in a clown outfit on my days off, Trowa."
Trowa ignored him. His green eyes were calm, as always, even though Duo searched them for signs of irritation. He sighed. "Have any trouble getting through?"
Trowa replaced the vent and slipped on a janitor's uniform. As he zipped it up, he said, "No. The vents are relatively unguarded. Everything has been set in motion."
"Alright. Get your mop and let's blow this pop-stand."
Trowa fixed him with a blank look. Duo grinned impishly. Trowa opened the janitor's closet and retrieved a broom. His eyes flashed over Duo's identification.
"Logan Grey?" Trowa said in his monotone voice that somehow managed to convey amusement.
"Yeah, don't you love those hacks at the Preventers? I ask them to give me an identity, and they give me one. I am proudly bearing the names of two X- men right now, thank you very much. Ah, I really do appreciate those fungus- like computer nerds in their basement…"
"I'll be sure to tell them that, Duo."
"Hey that's probably not such a good idea…I might be Mr. Butt-munch next time around."
"Oh I don't know, they might forgive you in a year or two."
"Trowa!"
"I'll be seeing you around, Mr. Grey."
"Hey wait! Can't we take a rain-check on that little bit of information?"
"It depends."
"On what?"
"How much you'll help me at the circus."
"What!"
"Take it or leave it."
"Oh fine! But I'll get you one day, Trowa. Some day when you're not expecting it, I'll get you."
"Sure. Me and my broom are shaking."
"Have you been hanging out with Wufei again?"
Trowa uttered a small chuckle. They moved away into the framework of the sixtieth floor.
About five minutes later, the top floors blacked out and smoke began to fill the air in a thick cloud.
***
The fire alarm went off. Sarena jumped at her desk. The shrill screech filled the lobby and she covered her ears. What the hell is going on?!
She sat down at her computer, hands flashing across the keys. Almost immediately, numbers and letters came up.
Sixtieth floor, blackout in computer sectors, smoke, possible fire, possible security breach.
Her hands didn't stop moving.
First order of business: get the people out. Second: secure the area. Third: Try to put out the fire.
The warning had been sent. Her hands went still. Sarena sat for a moment at her desk, totally paralyzed with fear. The alarm shrilled in her ears.
She thought to herself, get to it. NOW.
***
Twenty minutes later, a crowd of people had formed outside of the Gahlfman Center. They were dressed in suits, skirts, and janitorial uniforms. Most of them looked distinctly frazzled, wide eyed and nervous. They were the evacuated personnel.
The ones that were not looking up at the sixtieth floor with frightened looks on their faces were either in shock or didn't care. Saze and his group were some of the latter. They were some of the special personnel that Sarena thought of as creepy. They were dressed in black, stood like soldiers, and had cold, unfeeling eyes. Saze himself was tall, with dirty blond hair and strange honey coloured eyes. He watched the smoke rising from the windows of the sixtieth floor with no expression. In his ear, a hidden communicator buzzed. His face revealed nothing as he was given his orders.
The rest of his group stood silently, waiting.
They had been ordered out by a young man named Grey who outranked them in their current positions. Saze would not have let himself be moved so easily under normal circumstances, but his orders were to avoid a disturbance. He almost felt as if this was not the right thing to have done, but he had left several good men inside with the security force as a precaution.
He turned back to his group and motioned for them to remain as they were. His eyes moved over the mob of people, standing unprotected, not knowing the implications of the smoke. Like cattle, he thought. His gaze passed over a green van with tinted windows parked down the street, over the frightened faces of his coworkers and then back to the smoke, indifferent.
[Quatre]
"Phase one, complete. Trowa has activated the jammers, used the canisters and successfully assumed janitor position. Duo has infiltrated as a security officer. The building has been evacuated of all personnel except for guards, security, and some special services people. The sixtieth floor is vacant and still smoking. No police have been contacted. The elevators will be stopped in about six minutes. Confirm?"
There was a slight pause.
Quatre glanced up from his laptop, which displayed the structural layout of the building, complete with two blinking dots. The dots were labeled 02 and 03.
The open frequency crackled slightly.
"Diablo, confirmed, and Bozo the Clown does too. Ready to begin Phase two, Mr. Fantastic Four?"
"Waiting for further response, 02." Quatre smiled.
"Alrighty."
There was another pause.
"01, confirmed."
"05, confirmed."
"R-10, confirmed."
Quatre's hands moved over the keys of his computer. He spoke into his headset.
"Everyone has been confirmed. We are in position. We will change frequencies in twenty minutes. Begin Phase Two. And be careful, guys."
[Relena]
She stared into the night. She glanced over to where Hilde lay, dozing. She was looking better but she was still so pale. A little smile curved Relena's lips. Hilde herself would likely comment that in some cultures it was more attractive to be pale, so she was saving money on cosmetics.
The sky was overcast tonight. No stars, no moon, just a pressing grey blue. Relena thought of the paperwork she was avoiding by being here at Onyx Five, but that was easily shoved aside as her eyes traveled to the IV. The silence was broken only by the gentle sound of Hilde's breathing.
Relena's eyes moved to the window again, looking out over the wan yellow lights of the city. It seemed shrouded in shadow. Like so many things.
She sighed and stretched her legs. It's best not to think like that, she told herself. The pilots will be fine. They've done missions like this and harder before.
But that thought led to more unease. 'They have never been with Xiran Ki'Era before. They have never faced genetically altered soldiers. They've never gone into a situation as blind as they are now.'
The events of the morning slipped through her mind almost involuntarily. Heero had called to tell her that Duo wanted her to come and stay with Hilde, to which she agreed. Then he had said that they had decided to take Xiran with them. 'Why?' She had said. His pause had been long. 'I just thought you would like to know.'
'Take care,' she had whispered.
'I will.'
Relena quieted her mind. They—he—will be perfectly fine. Besides, worrying won't solve anything. Relena closed her eyes and drew a steady breath, her face becoming composed. Be strong for Hilde…for yourself. Heero's face flashed into her mind again, cold, unfeeling. Relena's own countenance twisted for a split second. 'Just let go, let go, don't do it like this. He doesn't need you, don't cling to the past.' Relena's hands clenched in her lap. 'Useless, unable to help, a foolish girl who meddled where she shouldn't have. Let the memories go. Let him go.'
Her eyes closed. His face was still there, but this time, his eyes were weary, lost, like they had been the last day of Mariemaia's war, when he had collapsed into her arms. Oh Heero, there is so much in your eyes.
She looked down at her hands in her lap and slowly uncurled them. She drew another steadying breath and her gaze traveled to the bed.
Hilde's eyes were open. Their gazes met.
Relena forced a reassuring smile for her friend. Hilde's eyes were dark and questioning. She said, "Are you all right?"
Relena smiled.
She thought, it is like we're at war again. We are the widows, waiting for their loved ones to come home. She took Hilde's hand, and Hilde squeezed it.
"I'm fine."
The clock on the wall read 7:43.
[Wufei]
He wanted to get in and out of here as quickly as possible. Enemy territory was not a good place to loiter, even if you did outclass them. Wufei sat behind the wheel of the truck and maneuvered towards the Gahlfman Center, thinking with deep misgiving about the disguise he was wearing. Ignoring the bland beige colour of the uniform, there wasn't much physical change. He had pointedly refused to become a bleach blond Chinese, but he couldn't get away from the other aspects. He glanced at himself in the rearview and shuddered. Blue eyes stared back at him. The wig on his head was a black mop with reddish highlights. I look like a side show freak, he thought in disgust. They're bakas, one and all. But then again…he glanced at the backseat and a satisfied smiled curved his lips.
Sure makes this a mission to remember.
[Xiran]
They sliced quickly and efficiently through the crowd, the frazzled business personnel easily letting them through. Heads barely turned to look as they passed by. Xiran was glad for the cover of the crowd, and her eyes scanned the backs of heads as she moved with the other two. Almost to the doors now, she let her gaze pass over the peripheral edge of the crowd—stop.
Her step didn't falter. Her eyes focused on the back of his head as she passed other people. 'Saze. It's Saze. Shit, why did it have to be Saze?'
His back was turned to her and she was glad of it. Even with her disguise and her concealed scent, he would surely spot her. And then…he would summon the rest. A massacre might ensue on this peaceful suburban street. She moved so that she walked in stride with Heero. His grey eyes flicked over to hers. For a split second she remembered how surprised she had been when he first put the contacts in…how much the dark grey made him seem so utterly remote. She must have been staring at him. He'd finally cracked the briefest of smiles and asked, do I look that bad?
Xiran blinked the present back into focus. She made a slight movement with her head towards Saze's turned back. Heero's eyes moved.
Saze's dirty blond head turned. He began to look towards them, his honey coloured eyes coming to rest on hers, surely in recognition. She felt his gaze. She remembered his voice: 'why fight like this? Must you challenge everything I say. I'm only trying to help you. I don't want to make this harder. It's only a mobile suit.' Amber eyes…no, ones like honey. Those eyes that looked straight into hers and…didn't change. Xiran let her eyes slide from him normally.
They passed into the shadow of the building a few seconds later and no one took notice of the blue-eyed Chinese, the black haired boy, and the blond- haired girl dressed in beige uniforms.
[Saze]
"Mechanics."
Saze spoke the word aloud as he heard it from his headset. He watched them move into the building. The secretary with brown eyes, Sarena, was talking to them. He supposed she was telling them where the problem was located. The young man named Grey was there too, with several officers. He motioned them to watch the entrance and then moved away to the elevators with the mechanics. Saze remembered the girl with the honey coloured hair. She had green eyes…eyes that held you in thrall but revealed nothing. Saze touched his communicator.
[Wufei]
The braided baka was actually doing a reasonable job of keeping the situation under control. The entrances were sealed, the sixtieth floor was cleared, and the security personnel were making routine sweeps. They would be on the lookout for anything suspicious, but the pilots weren't about to be leaving anything behind. Wufei had to admit it was well done.
The elevator hummed its way up to the top floor. The four of them were silent, faces composed, eyes not meeting. Wufei thought, well this really isn't the situation I pictured myself in when I agreed to this mission. He still got a kick out of the onna's hair. Blond was not her colour of choice. He firmly kept his mind away from another train of thought that always seemed to follow Xiran. Well, at least she didn't have blue eyes anymore.
The elevator stopped and opened. Trowa stood there with a backpack for each of them. Duo grinned, shook his braid out of his hat and said, "Let's do it."
'Shut up Maxwell.' Wufei thought irritably. 'Stop being so infernally happy!' He sighed and stepped out of the elevator. The corridors were shadowy and lit by emergency lights. Quatre had control over the electronics on this floor. No security cameras. He discarded the hideous wig with relief.
He glanced over to the new member of the party. Xiran's green eyes had a feral look to them that Wufei hadn't seen before. She glanced his way as if she had felt his eyes on her. A faint half-smile lifted her mouth and faded.
Wufei thought, this is a test you must pass, Xiran Ki'Era. It's time to play at full strength. I won't hold back…and neither will you. The question of your motives will be answered today.
Wufei lifted a gun out of one of the packs, and his mind whispered suddenly, But at what cost?
[Trowa]
Quatre's voice was in his ear. Its sound was oddly comforting. Trowa knew they were in good hands with Quatre commanding them from his safe position in the van. The frequency shifted with a bit of static and his voice came over the airwaves.
"Okay guys—sorry, R-10. This mission has got to be quick. Everyone, fan out and move to your stations. Search the data files for anything that might be interesting. When or if you find something, contact me and we'll pull out to office room 6218. You know what to do if something happens."
"Right Quatre, we've got you," Heero said. His slate grey eyes flashed over all of them. They moved out.
Trowa found himself in an office that reminded him of Lady Une's. It had a great view, and an expensive mahogany desk, outfitted with a top notch computer. Trowa locked the door and began riffling through the files in the cabinet. Finding nothing there, he proceeded to tear the room apart. Several minutes later, he was at the computer, the light reflecting in his green eyes. Files upon files of information, but nothing of use. Trowa sat back and sighed. His eyes moved up to the ceiling and along the paneling. His eyes traveled along an apparent fault in the paneling until they reached the wall. But it didn't stop there. Trowa sat up with a jerk. A secret door. Should have thought of that one.
He quickly found the switch, a knob in the floor, and the door slid open. In the darkness beyond was the glint of computer screens and electronics. One of Trowa's rare smiles crossed his face. "Now we're in business," he whispered.
"Quatre."
"Yes."
"I have what we need."
"So fast?"
Trowa smiled again.
"Yes. It was in a secret room. I've downloaded it to a chip and straightened my mess. Phase Two is complete."
"Alright. Initiating Phase Three."
***
He moved down the shadowed halls of floor level sixty. His pale eyes almost seemed to glow in the semi-dark. The ones that were on the floor now had left their scents on the very air, and it was this intangible guide that he followed. There was one scent that bothered him, though. He bent and let his eyes half close. It was a scent that was too obvious, too patented to be real. But beneath it he could almost…
A sound in the hall. His eyes snapped open. He skittered on silent feet to another room, his eyes watching the grey eyed man far down the hall. His hand touched the gun at his hip. It wasn't very far from his communicator. He flicked it on.
"Saze, be on your guard. Contact the superior. We may have pilots on our hands."
[Heero]
Room 6218. A storage room with a penthouse view. Ah, luxury for the rich.
Well, he was happy with what he had. Which at this point really wasn't very much, but he was ready to build on it. Heero closed the carabeener on his harness with a click and twisted it tight. He was going to go down first.
Across the room, Duo was gathering up the thick climbing ropes to slide them through the anchors located at the window. Those things, with their yards of coil, had been stored in a closet in the very room, put there by a trusted Preventer lackey. Duo tossed a glance Heero's way and winced. Heero raised an eyebrow. Duo only shook his head.
"That sure as hell looks mighty uncomfortable, buddy." He shuddered. "I HATE these things!"
Heero glanced down. He glanced back up.
"You do know that this strap crosses here, and then is pulled back through here, right?"
Duo glowered at him, and then his expression changed to one of smugness.
"Well maybe you don't have problems in that department. They only called you the Perfect 'Soldier' right?"
He grinned.
Heero's grey eyes went from shocked to annoyed very quickly. "Duo—"
A small muffled laugh from across the room. Xiran, evidently the third to arrive, had her hand over her mouth. Her cheeks slowly reddened as two pairs of eyes turned to her. "Uh, what? I must have come in at a weird part in that conversation…"
"Yeah, see, we were discussing these here climbing harnesses. You see how they come across here at crotch level? Yes, well they create an interesting sort of pinch there that can raise your voice an octave or two and Heero, well he doesn't—"
"Duo, I will hurt you."
"What? Do you have anything to hide, Heero? I thin—"
"Stop! I don't think I want to know any more!" Xiran protested.
"Suuure you do—gack!"
Duo was reeled in by his hair by an extremely irritated Wufei. He gave him a hard look and said, "You know Maxwell, people always overcompensate for something they don't have."
At this point, while surprise slowly spread itself over Duo's face, Trowa entered. Duo began protesting Wufei's statement rather loudly. Trowa held up the chip. Wufei yanked Duo's hair.
"Shut up, you overcaffinated freak."
"Ouuch, a low blow from the Wu-man!"
"I could go lower, but I don't want to undermine my dignity."
"Oh yeah?"
Heero gave them both glares with his steel eyes and they shut up.
Trowa nodded in Heero's direction. He said, "Alright now we're in the next phase, because I've got the chip. Rappelling out is our safest route at the moment. Here, take the gloves." He took leather gloves from his pack and tossed a pair to them all. "Quatre's disabled the elevators and blocked the electronic doors throughout the building. He's going to set off a small alarm on the thirtieth floor as a distraction when we're ready."
Heero glanced over to Xiran. Her face had the same motionless, impassive look as when she had killed the soldiers. Her green eyes made her seem that much more feline, and strangely savage. As he watched, her hands moved over her gun, checking it. His eyes moved again to her face, seeing nothing. He remembered Relena eyes as she said, I would rather have my hands soaked in the blood of Oz!
He shook himself.
He thought, everything is going according to plan. There's nothing to worry about. Xiran looked up at him and her bright eyes seemed to stare straight through him. Her face softened slightly. She said, "Nothing to worry about." But then her face resumed its hard look.
"Yet."
***
He stopped dead in the hall, his pale eyes open wide. The scent had come strong for a second, had filled his mind with all sorts of information, and then passed. He bent and touched a palm to the floor, his other going to his gun.
"I know that scent…"
[Duo]
He was glad he was not afraid of heights. Sure, he was afraid of falling but he was sure glad at this moment that he was not afraid of heights. He climbed out onto the wide, rectangular window of the storage office. Balancing himself securely, he started clipping the carabeeners into the climbing anchors he had secured to the top of the cement window. Their position would stop the ropes from grating against the windowsill. For a moment he paused and clung there, feeling the light wind ruffle his hair. He heard the evening hum of the city behind him, and thought of Hilde.
[Xiran]
'Patience, patience. Patience is a virtue. Remember that.' She watched as Heero slid his rope through his carabeenrs and made final checks on his harness, smiling to herself. The harness supported the waist and looped around the tops of the legs, and was secured in front, at near crotch level. It really did look rather…uncomfortable. She muttered to herself, "Sometimes I truly do love being female."
Xiran watched Duo climb out the window and stand on the sill, his hands working on the anchors above his head.
She went and took the stance near the massive file cabinet they were using as a base anchor. It was metal and six feet tall, ten feet wide. The thing was practically the size of a Hummer. She herself was going to be the human anchor if anything went wrong. She had a specially knotted rope attached to the back of her harness that she would clip to the base anchor if anything happened. Assuming someone was falling, and were already attached to their rope, she would clip herself to the base, take the carabeener at the front of her harness and clip it to their rope and then do her damnedest to stop their fall. She would be the last person to rappel out if nothing happened. She watched as Trowa and Wufei gathered equipment and began to suit up. They were so at ease with what they were doing. It reminded her that even they, who seemed so kind and funny, were trained soldiers. Her eyes moved unbidden to Heero.
A sound.
Her head turned sharply in the direction of the hall. Her senses sharpened like knives.
Images and possibilities snapped through her head. A sniper or silencer?
Paranoia?
She listened again. Silence except for Wufei and Trowa suiting up.
*Your senses are your weapons. Use them, and use them well. Be true to your nature and do not doubt them.
There's nothing, there, sir.
Is that what your mind says, or is that what you want to believe?
It's what my mind says, Saze.
If you let your mind lie, your actions mean nothing.*
No. There was nothing there. Let those demons lie dead. Xiran began to move again.
Then all at once there were pale eyes in the shadows that widened in recognition, a flash of grey. They were eyes she knew.
She screamed, "34!" At her back, she heard the pilots turn. Too slow!
The pale eyes streaked forward and his gun came up. Xiran's finger closed on the trigger of her weapon.
Gunfire shattered the air.
The pilots threw themselves to the side, but that wasn't where he was aiming. The one that was the most vulnerable was— Xiran didn't even have time to cry out.
The bullets slammed into the grey of Duo's uniform. Four impacts in the chest.
Xiran barely had time to register the horror before the force threw him out into space.
[Wufei]
Fuck the bastard! Wufei was up and running under the cover of Xiran's fire in seconds. He felt nothing, nothing, didn't let anything register. Nothing would register, except for the fact that he was going after the hybrid.
The seconds seemed to slow down. Wufei suddenly saw the situation clearly, impassively, saw Trowa rolling to get up, his green eyes as blank as ever, saw Xiran on the ground firing, her face in a state of such intensity it was frightening, saw Heero, his flat grey eyes shocked and filling with something, and saw finally the empty open window. 'Stupid baka! You always said you were the god of death!'
Wufei's gaze turned to Xiran's and their eyes locked for a long millisecond. Then Wufei raced down the hall after the retreating hybrid.
[Duo]
He was over and falling before he could cry out. Head first towards the pavement sixty stories below. The wind screamed past him. The grey streets below rushed up to meet him. He thought placidly, I'm dead… I'm dead. No, I'm a splatter on the sidewalk. Well I hope they have a damn hard time scraping me off!
[Heero]
A split second after Duo went over Heero was ready. His mind had moved with the speed and precision of a computer, calculating, assessing. Now he was ready.
Straight into Xiran's flaring eyes he looked. Grey on green, blue on blue. Understanding snapped into them in an instant. She cried, "GO!" and grabbed his rope as he jumped out the window.
[Wufei]
Feet pounding the floor. He ran like a wolf, swift, silent, deadly. The hybrid was a corner ahead of him and somehow managing to pull away. Well if he thought he was getting away from Chang Wufei on this night, he was sadly mistaken.
He rounded the corner on full speed, seeing the hybrid down the hall trying to get into a room. Bad idea, Wufei thought. He opened fire. The hybrid jerked around and returned fire while trying to run. One hand went down to something at his waist. Communication device?
The hybrid screamed something into it.
1 'You won't get a chance to use it a second time!'
Wufei leaped into the air and rebounded off the wall, his aim as unwavering as the look in his eyes. The hybrid jerked with the bullets, pale eyes widening. He still managed to stagger to the elevator doors. He collapsed against the doors, blood streaking the metal surface. Wufei stood over him, breathing hard. He kicked the gun away. He said coldly, "Who did you contact?"
The hybrid numbered 34 looked up at him, said, "The time has come for the end to come to the beginning," and clenched his hand around something on his wrist. His eyes rolled back in his head and he died.
[Duo]
This is going to be extremely unpleasant.
His chest was just started to register the pain of the impacts. He couldn't breathe. 'Why can't I breathe? Ah well it doesn't matter, I'll be dead in a minute anyway.'
He got ready to close his eyes.
There was a sudden jerk on his foot. He looked up into Heero's grey eyes, coldly intense, his hair whipping about his face. Heero said, "Hold on! We're getting out of here!"
[Xiran]
The line coiled rapidly out the window. Second by second, meter by meter. Xiran, now anchored to the cabinet, braced herself for the friction. 'Where the hell was Wufei?'
Trowa at the window, yelled, "He's got him! They're in position!"
"Wufei!" Xiran called desperately. She closed her hands on the strand of fire sliding through her palm. Wufei entered the room and lunged for the rope. Trowa appeared behind him and as one, they tried to slow the freefall of their two comrades. The rope rasped through their gloved hands, the heat of the friction rising until it burned. Hold! Xiran thought desperately. Hold!
The rope was agony, their hands were being shredded, but the end of the rope was coming and they had to stop it. Trowa, Wufei, and Xiran strained with all their strength as Duo and Heero plummeted towards the sidewalk.
[Heero]
The pavement was coming and they were going to have a very messy meeting with it. Their descent was slowing but not fast enough for comfort. Heero had himself braced for when the rope would stop, facing towards the window above with his feet towards the building. Duo was clinging behind him, his own harness clipped to the back of Heero's. Heero hoped it would be enough. Prayed that it would be enough.
The stories flashed by. Level forty. Thirty.
No miracle happened.
Twenty five.
Time did not stop.
Twenty.
There was a jerk on the rope.
Fifteen.
They slowed. The wind grew quiet.
Ten.
They stopped.
Heero finally felt Duo's fingers digging into his shoulders, felt how much his eyes hurt, how much the harness was cutting into him. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Ten stories below them, the sidewalk lay in a hard, unforgiving wall. Heero closed his eyes.
"Duo?"
"Oh my god I swear, I never, EVER want to do that again. I think my whole life flashed in front of my eyes! And really, when I reviewed, I haven't done some cool stuff yet. I haven't seen all seven wonders of the world! I haven't been to a crazy rock concert! I haven't participated in a hamburger eating contest! I haven't got married! I haven't even got LAID—"
"Duo, are you alright?"
"Well, I nearly pissed my pants, and I think I may be psychologically scarred, but yeah, I think I'm okay."
"How? You got shot!"
"Oh that? I have a bulletproof vest on. Comes with the security uniform. Duh."
Heero let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright. So now, how do we get back up?"
"Uhhhh…."
"That's what I thought."
[Quatre]
"What happened? He did what? Are they okay?" He had to force his voice to be steady. Trowa patiently waited for him to calm down.
"They're fine. Duo had a vest on. His ribs will be sore in the morning but he'll be okay. We used a counterweight to get them back up here. There's an office desk hanging out there now."
"It's securely anchored, I hope?"
"Of course."
"Are you guys ready to get out?"
"Yes. We're in your hands."
"Good. Because someone sounded the alarm, and the security forces are coming. There's also a chance that the hybrids in the building have moved out without my knowing. You have to move right now. All the elevators are stopped, no one can come up that way, but there are people moving up the stairs connecting each level. Be careful. I've jammed all the doors that I can. The side stairwell that runs all the way down the building should be clear. Move out into the hallway. The first door is open. Your best shot is to get down to the garage and out before security realizes exactly what's happened. The stairs lead all the way down to the underground parking lot."
"Understood. Are you safe?"
"A lot safer than you are. I'll be waiting."
[Heero]
"You baka! That took years off my life!" Xiran yelled at the braided boy as they pounded down the stairs.
"Years off YOUR life? I was the one who was gonna go splat!"
Heero gave him an amused look.
"And Heero too! Jeez, you worry too much." He grinned at her. She smiled and rolled her eyes.
"I thought we were going to find both of you in pieces on the ground, Duo."
"But then we called in Heero, the human form of duct tape. When there's something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call? Call Heero! Duh duh duh duh..."
Heero chuckled as Duo continued to sing the Ghostbusters theme. He looked at Xiran. He said quietly, "And we had you holding the rope."
She smiled a little and said nothing. He held her gaze for a long moment. Her eyes were still green and strange, but he read the relief and gratitude on her face. A tiny knowing smile touched his face and passed.
They both turned their attentions to running. It was going to be a long way down.
Jumping from level to level was faster but harder, so they alternated between that and running. They passed floor level 49 without breaking a sweat, but Heero knew they were really conserving energy for the long haul.
He figured Duo was probably having a more difficult time, but they couldn't do anything to help him. Heero hoped he would have the stamina to keep going. They passed stairs upon stairs and doors upon doors as they spiraled down into the bowels of the building. Eventually he wasn't even concentrating on his surroundings, he was just running. Duo, obviously experiencing the same thing, was of course, bored.
"Wouldn't it be cool if this was a really big waterslide and we could all slide down going weeeeeee?"
"It's been said before Maxwell...Don't Do Drugs. They're bad for you."
"That's right Wufei...you just keep telling yourself that."
"And to think I always wondered why you had so little brain cells..."
"I'd rather be born with less brain cells than be born with a POLE UP MY-"
"Okay that's enough. Do I have to separate you two?"
"But Heero..."
Trowa said up ahead, "Three words, Duo. We. Don't. Care. Just run."
Duo threw up his hands. "Hey! Be nicer to the almost splattered guy! I've had a near death experience already today!"
"Such a shame. It really didn't change your outlook on life much..."
"Oh, like you weren't worried, Wufei."
"No."
"I know you were, don't try to hide it. You're a bad liar. You'd better not have any affairs when you get married or you're toast."
"Maxwell..." Wufei growled.
"Okay, that's it! You, over here, you over there! We still have forty more stories to go!" This time it was Xiran, sounding amused but exasperated.
Heero smiled to himself. Ah, Duo. Always a guaranteed goofball.
Heero had barely had time to think when Duo had been shot. All his mind registered was that he was gone and falling. Immediately after that came the plan to save him. After that he really didn't think, he just moved with the one motivation to get to Duo in time.
Heero watched Duo as he ran, his long braid bouncing. He'd never expected that he could like the loud mouthed American boy as much as he did. His thoughts, following that tangent, brought up an image that also lived in his mind. Blond hair, blue eyes. Relena. The sight of her back as she stood defiantly between him and his attacker, Duo. And then Zechs. And then when she had been kidnapped, the same action he'd felt with Duo had kicked in, and he had gone to help her. He remembered her as she stood tall and watched his Gundam's arm come straight at her, somehow knowing that he couldn't bring himself to kill her. Xiran's face flashed in his mind.
Heero blinked and the grey cement of the stairway reappeared in his vision. He sighed. Still thirty more levels to go, with no distraction except his thoughts. Great. Super. Hopefully Duo would start chattering again.
Level twenty seven.
His legs were starting to burn uncomfortably.
"Better than a Stairmaster!" Duo exclaimed suddenly.
"Yeah yeah...we know," Trowa said dryly.
"You know, I think if we'd started the Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the wall song on the top floor, we'd have finished it by now."
"Likely."
"You really don't care, do you?"
"No."
"That's what I thought."
"Duo, more breath for running, less for talking," Wufei muttered.
"Well it's certainly not my fault your brain needs no stimulation. Go meditate in your corner."
"You know, if you rolled down the rest of the stairs, you might get there faster."
"Sure. I'd only be so much more dead."
"Like I said, what a shame."
"Would you both stop that?" Xiran said, with a surprising amount of irritation in her voice. Duo gave her a surprised look. Heero glanced at her. Her eyes had that closed look again. She was looking at the nearest elevator door. "Quatre, how are we doing? We're nearing the 19th floor now."
Quatre's voice came into all their ears. "The bulk of security is going in the opposite direction you are, up the main stairs to the sixtieth floor. But there are some people who are searching the other floors. The building is in basic lockdown."
"Quatre," Xiran broke in, "Where is the group of security personnel in black who were outside the front doors?"
"They split into two and one group went back inside."
Heero was watching her eyes.
"Hybrid soldiers?"
"Yes."
Duo's violet eyes were intently fixed on Xiran. He said, "Shit. I sure as hell hope you didn't hear something in those shafts, Xi." Heero silently agreed.
They continued to the tenth floor.
By this time, even Heero was sweating. Duo's face was a little paler than it should have been, and the others were all looking a little strained. The pounding of the stairs now seemed like a strange and monotonous chorus of drums.
"So...close...yet so far," Duo said, his face pinched.
"So close..." Xiran echoed.
"Come on guys, you can do it! Only six floors to go now."
"Do us a favour, Quatre," Trowa said as calmly as ever, "and don't be so positive."
Quatre's gentle laugh seemed to reverberate in Heero's brain.
They rounded the curve on the fifth floor and Xiran suddenly fell back. Heero slowed as well.
"What is it?"
Her face drained of emotion, leaving her green eyes the only human part of her.
They turned onto the fourth floor. Xiran's eyes were intently focused on a door up ahead. She said in a whisper, "The elevator shaft."
Heero's grey eyes widened and he said quickly, "Quatre, check the surveillance in the shafts."
"...there isn't any." Quatre's voice was uneasy.
"Should there be?"
There was a pause. "Yes."
The other pilots had slowed. "There's someone in the elevator shafts?"Wufei asked.
"Not sure," Heero said. Xiran's face was still blank. She said, "Saze..."
They rounded the corner of floor level three.
With a small sound, the silvery metal of the elevator doors on level two began to open. Trowa was the first one to see and said, "Doors!"
Xiran drew her gun and said, "Hurry. Get to the garage. Now!"
They only hesitated for a half second. Then they ran.
Trowa, Wufei and Duo rounded the steps in front of the shaft at a dead run and kept going. Xiran dropped to her knees and fired up into the shaft as she slid past it. Heero, on her heels, leaped at the door controls.
"Quatre," he yelled, "Close the door on level two! Close it!"
Quatre's voice came into his ear, small and tinny compared the the sound of Xiran's gun. "Use manual override!"
Heero looked at the panel.
Beside him, answering fire echoed up the shaft, the sound bouncing hollowly off the walls. Xiran rolled and fired some more, the crack of the gun amplified by the shaft. "Fifteen!" She panted, her eyes never leaving the darkness of the door. "More coming." They looked at each other.
Heero took one more look at the panel. Then he smashed it. The doors short circuited and began to grind shut.
He drew his gun and stood next to her. He caught movement up in the shaft and fired. The skittering sounds echoing in the darkness sounded like spiders.
He radioed to Quatre. "Keep the doors shut or we'll be overwhelmed."
"Trying."
The doors shuddered within a foot of closing and stopped. Xiran swore. Heero said, "Can you see them?"
"Yes." Her eyes probed the darkness. She suddenly yanked him towards her. Muffled gunfire broke the silence and holes riddled the wall where he had stood.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
They stood for another long moment, closer than normal, eyes turned to the shadows. Heero's mind went through the possibilities of the hybrid attack. They could enter another floor above them and ambush from the stairs. They could enter beneath them. They could try to overwhelm them at the shaft. Or they could wait for them to run out of bullets. Heero looked down at the gun in his hand. There was half a magazine left. Both him and Xi had two extra. It wasn't a lot.
Xiran suddenly turned to him, her face motionless. Her green eyes locked onto his. She knew what he'd been thinking. She said, "I can hold them off for now. They'll likely wait for my ammo to run out. Go, Heero."
He hesitated. Her eyes were strange. Quickly he dropped his magazines at her feet and said in a low voice, "Five minutes." Her eyes softened.
Sudden sounds in the shaft brought her about with gun raised. Her face resumed its cold look. Without looking at him, she said, "Go!"
He went.
The look she sent after him was uncertain. She turned her full attention back on the shaft, and a feral light surged in her eyes. The sounds of gunfire echoed into the night.
[Duo]
"Ah, the glories of having a government job," Duo sighed as he surveyed the extensive underground parking lot. Government cars, trucks, and motorcylces gleamed under the lights. He noted the guard's booth. There were also other guards standing at the entrances. The big doors leading out could close, but not quickly. He motioned to the others. They moved in under the cover of cars, while Duo stood up and strode confidently in the direction of the booth. The man there was forty and balding. He looked up with some surprise as Duo approached.
Duo waved. "Heya. My name is Logan Grey, current chief of security." Duo flashed his identification. "I'll be needing some transportation to take two witnesses in for questioning." The guard nodded, his gaze passing over him."Where are these two witnesses?...and how did they get down here?" His eyes moved over the bullet holes in Duo's uniform. Suspicion changed to understanding in his watery blue eyes. Simultaneously there was movement out of the corner of Duo's eye as Heero came sprinting down the stairs.
Oh great, Duo thought.
[Trowa]
Duo came strolling back to them flipping keys in his hand. As Heero approached, Trowa said, "How did you persuade the guard?"
Duo tossed each of them a key and began to open his mouth.
"He used his amazing people skills," Heero said, with a glance in the direction of the booth. Duo grinned.
"Ah," Trowa said, noting the guard propped in his booth. He almost looked as if he was sleeping--if you disregarded the swelling on his forehead.
"Yeah," Duo said with a shrug. "My fist has some great people skills."
Wufei rolled his eyes and said, "Baka."
They moved out quickly.
[Xiran]
Two magazines left.
The hybrids in the shaft had the cover of darkness, but the sound of their weapons was a big disadvantage in the small space. She was glad she couldn't see them entirely, only their flashing eyes and bare outlines in the black.
The spiderlike sounds of metal and claws scraping alerted her to a large number of them moving. So they were going to try the overwheming technique, were they? Xiran jammed a spare magazine in her pants and waited.
The scraping sounds became more violent, closer, and she whipped out her gun and fired at the multiple shapes clinging to the sides of the shaft. The spider sounds were punctuated with a scream. The sounds increased still, and Xiran thought, here they come...
Then they moved away.
Several seconds later there was no sound. No sound. Pressed to the metal of the door, she panted with her ear to the paneling. What could…
It came like the flash of a camera. A snapshot of the explosive taped to the paneling. But too late. She was thrown back and across the landing as the door exploded in a thunderous roar. Stairs jammed in her back as she rolled down the stairway.
2 'Goddamn stairs! Haven't you already caused me enough grief today?'
The world whirled with dizzying speed. She tried to stop, but she didn't know where to turn. Pain flared in her ribs, suffocating pain. Jolts as she passed more steps, jarring her skull.
3 'I really hate these stairs!'
Sudden stillness. Through the pounding in her head, she realized that she was lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairwell. She couldn't tell if any bones were broken, she felt strangely numb.
I can't get up, she thought dully.
Her blue eyes narrowed. 'It is not going to end here at the bottom of these bloody goddamn stairs!' Her hands found the floor and slowly pushed her torso upright. She focused her eyes on the top of the landing. The idiots closed themselves in, she thought in amusement. The door was buried in chunks of cement fallen from the floor above. But they were still coming for her, and if they knew who she was, they would never stop. Xiran forced herself to get one knee up. Even that small effort made the blood pound in her temples.
They're coming, get up, get up! She drew in a sharp breath through her teeth.
'But where…where is he? Leaving me here would seem sloppy for the perfect soldier. He'll be coming…coming for me…
Maybe.'
Xiran gritted her teeth and stood. She swayed, her balance skewed, her head spinning.
She refused to let herself fall. Not here, not to be found by Saze. Her vision tilted. Her hands reached out for the floor that she knew was coming at her face.
Strong arms took her shoulders. Someone said her name urgently. Her eyes cleared.
Eyes the colour of fall storms looked into hers. For a moment she was within an inch of panic.
He said her name again, and memory and relief returned. The one holding her was Heero. She felt her strength leave her.
[Heero]
Her eyes snapped back to realization. He breathed a mental sigh of relief. She suddenly sagged against him, her eyes going cloudy again. He held her close, seeing with a little stab of fear the evidence of a bomb on the landing. "Xiran," he said sharply, more sharply than he'd intended. He heard her say, "Sorry...little woozy," against his chest. She lifted her eyes finally and stood a little shakily on her own. She'd be okay. But there was no time to stay here. Quatre said that the human security was zeroeing in on the bomb and the shooting, and there was no telling where the hybrids were. The rest of them might be right on the next level.
They hurried to where his motorcycle, so generously donated by the government, waited.
"Get on!" He said to her and straddled the motorcycle. Her arms clasped around him. He gunned the engine and tore out of there.
[Wufei]
Duo was really, really pressing his luck. He was waving at the security guards at the entrance as they accelerated out of the Gahlfman Center. Wufei thought with deep misgiving about the obviousness of their appearances. No, we're not specially trained soldiers trying to steal information. We're just a janitor, a security chief, and a bunch of mechanics. Sure.
The exit to the garage was at the back of the building and he was glad. At least then the office desk wouldn't have the chance to conveniently fall on them. With all their luck tonight, he really wouldn't have been surprised.
Through the comminicator in his ear, Quatre said, "Well I guess this is Phase Five, guys. You have successfully exited the center, and now all you have to do is make a clean getaway."
The pilots turned on to the main street and sped up, aiming for a base far in the deserted countryside.
Wufei said aloud, "We sure as hell aren't out of the woods yet."
Quatre's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts.
"Unknown group of persons in cars and on motorcycles have just moved out of an unmarked warehouse. The vehicles are also unmarked, blackmarket style. It's almost certainly the hybrids. They're moving down the main street. They're closing on—" His voice cut off with a burst of static. Wufei went cold. Next to him, Trowa's face turned white.
"Quatre?"
Static was the only answer.
[Relena]
She started from a light doze. She looked around for what had caused her to wake up, but could find nothing. Beside her, Hilde slept on, unawares. Relena turned her head to look out the window, to where the moon's light provided no solace in the unrelenting grey of the sky.
The clock on the wall read 9:56.
END
Oi, school has been eating my brain. Sorry for the lack of updates! Eh, procrastination is another one of those personal demons I'm in the process of beating. But whatever, sorry for this chapter's somewhat mediocre content. When school eats your brain, it only leaves minimal grey matter for Gundam obsessing.
This really wasn't even where I wanted to end this chapter, but I saw fit to cut it short because it was growing insanely long. Sigh, but I'm excited! Next chapter promises a food fight and some secrets unveiled! Six will make her second appearance. Are the pilots ready for what she has to say?
(and oooh, I'm one chapter closer to SEIGE! *jumps for joy* I can't wait to post it! So close yet so far…) Well enough ranting for one chapter. Thanks so much to those who reviewed! Seeress, Gailstorm, ShiverDragon, Turles, and my old buddy Shadowless (you have yet to find my Shadow shrine under my bed ^^) You guys are the best! Thank you so much!!
~Kywraith