Her base of operations was a simple two story planted in a small clearing in the forest on the edge of sea lined cliffs. It had two bathrooms, three bedrooms not counting the master bedroom, and no furniture. I wonder if they think a teenaged girl going out and buying thousands of dollars of furniture is inconspicuous. The plane was hidden in a hanger that opened off the side of the cliff. The massive door that was artistically created to resemble the cliff and therefore fool radar that might notice a gaping square in the side of a cliff. There was also a full set of tools down there for fixing mechanical things, primarily the gundams, but no computers. The only electrical operating thing was the lights.
The house was really well secluded, a dirt driveway and a small dirt path through dense forest to the edge of a back road. In the middle of nowhere. No wonder why they laughed when I asked for a private location. Old men have horrid senses of humor. Not one car in the five minutes that she waited and watched in the frail hope that she might get some indication of the direction of the town. In the end she wound up checking the road systems through the computer back in the base. Town was seven miles down a complex network of back roads, she printed it out since she didn't think even her talented mind could remember the maze of small roads and started walking.
A virtual metropolis was the city. She easily found a mall with those wonderful department stores that sold everything. First thing was first, a bed, then kitchen junk. I can survive with just a microwave for a while. A chair and desk, and another more comfortable couch just for sitting in. They let her ride in the moving truck as she directed them to where her house was. She didn't yet know the address and they would have gotten lost anyway. I live in the boondocks!
She carried the microwave and her handbag as they struggled with couch up the stairs. They also carried up the desk, but she dismissed them after, claiming she could get the chair up herself. Shortly after she made her way down to the hanger and retrieved the hover board from the chairless plane. Stupid, why didn't I think of it before. She rode it back into the city and tucked it into her handbag on the outskirts. They was only one in existence and she wanted it to stay in her possession. She purchased a few more items and headed back for the night. My first day on earth and my first meal is… She studied the label sarcastically. Easy-mix macaroni. The rest of the boxes of assorted add-water food were shoved into an empty cabinet above the microwave, and she handwashed the bowl before heading upstairs. She had remembered to buy shampoo, conditioner and soap at the store, but the idea of a towel had evaded her. As had the idea of drapes or blinds. If there's anyone out there I'll hunt them down and gouge out their eyes. She curled up on the couch to sleep with another blanket wrapped around her. She hadn't had enough arms to carry sheets and pillows back from the stores.
She set up a laser sensor across a meadow that he had just passed through. Pilot 03 was headed towards the circus tents, she had exactly three minutes once the beam was broken. She linked up the small signal to her laptop and raced back to Heavy arms. Due to the inability of OZ troops to shoot straight and Trowa Barton's for the record tendency to wade into things severe foot damage had been taken. She grabbed her tools and began removing the outer armor.
The harsh beep almost made her miss the connection. He's back already? Damn I'm not finished yet! She hastily soldered the most important connections, mainly the ones that would ensure movement and began fixing the outer gundanium plates on. She twirled the last bolt and scooped her tools into the backpack, snapping her laptop closed and sticking it under her arm. About twenty seconds to get away. He's a gundam pilot, he'll hear me if I run…Hide! The truck!
She rolled under the main body and wedged herself between the bed of the truck and the axle. Damn this is uncomfortable. Lemme get in a good position before he arrives. White pants appeared through the bushes, shaking them only a little and making hardly any sound. They circled around the truck a little bit before climbing up on top of it. The cockpit opened with a hiss and she could hear the hum of the computers starting up. If the gundam's on I definitely won't be able to get away due to the motion sensors. The brown shoes reappeared and to her annoyance they wandered over to the gundam's feet. The toe shield was delicately placed on the ground. I'm gonna be here for a while.
She had rejected the thought of working on her laptop. Even if she turned the sound off he might notice the illumination off the ground. She had brought no books to read, it was too dark to read anymore either. She watched the feet wander back to the toolbox on the ground and the pilot sift through the various wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers and drills. She shifted slightly as he dug beneath the top layer of equipment so that the backpack of her own would jingle in time and hopefully he wouldn't notice it. He retracted a pair of needle nose pliers at the same time something in her backpack decided to realign itself.
He froze.
Damn. She gripped the axle in one hand and braced the other across the backpack to prevent more movement. Don't breathe too loud! A gun appeared in her vision and she turned away as the pilot knelt hoping that her dark brown hair would hide her somewhat, better than her face for sure. Thank goodness I wore black today. Female intuition don't fail me about the hide-under the truck decision. She held her breathe and tried to keep perfectly still, even suppress the rise and fall of her chest that might attract attention. She breathed only when the snap of the pliers announced he was working on the gundam again. She sighed but relaxed only a little. She left a while after he did, gathering her lasers from the clearing as she went. As a last minute whim she decided to watch the performance.
He was in the knife throwing act. With Cathrine Bloom the knife thrower of the circus. He was dressed as a clown, wearing only half a mask. The pilot had a very large bang that hid his right eye from view, mask also covered that side of his face thankfully or it would seem as if he didn't have any eyes. He was very unemotional, just like pilot 01. His lack of fright seemed to amuse and then agitate Cathrine Bloom a little bit, enough to send her off aim slightly. Her last knives cut the side of his face, causing a small trickle of blood to run down past his ear. Of course he didn't move being a gundam pilot and all. She clapped and cheered with the rest of the crowd as they bowed.
She followed the crowd only as far as the exit, where she slipped into the shadows of the tents and headed towards the prep area. Following him. She crouched close to the edge of the tent when she heard his-their voices. Pilot 03 and Cathrine, the knife thrower arguing.
"Why didn't you dodge the knife Trowa!?!"
It was short, but packed with vital information. Cathrine Bloom had managed to earn his slight concern. Sure she was worried about him, she had practically stabbed him with a knife! I would be sorry too. However more important than her concern although it was kinda cute was his concern. He was trying to raise a wall before she could attach herself to him or himself to her. Preventing the bonds of friendship in the event that he would not return. However it seemed that it was too late.
She watched with growing interest as he went into the same trailer to sleep. Awfully late for something like walls. More work, just what I need. She would have to learn more about Cathrine Bloom as well now, by intimate relations to one of the pilots that made her a weakness, a flaw in their psyche. Too late to kill her, which would prevent future situations. No, she would have to watch over the circus throwing knife star as well. What an interesting confrontation if she found out. Dinner was eazy-mac again.