Shadow of the Revolution
Standard disclaimer applies.
© Seeress, 2002
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Shadow of the Revolution
Chapter 12
She was almost certain beyond doubt that the barrel of a gun was pressed on her back. Actually, she was willing to bet her life on it, but since an armed weapon was making contact with her skin, she thought it better not to try her luck. Cursing herself for the momentary lapse, she tried to squirm around to get free of her captor's grip. But soon she found that the hand covering her mouth had moved away, and the barrel of the gun was no longer touching her back.
"Keep it down, would you?" an angry female voice hissed, and Blade instantly recognized who was speaking. Whipping around to confront her ex-captor, her eyes flashed fury.
"What the hell do you think you're doing here?"
The girl before her merely smiled, putting her gun back in its holster casually and brushing back a piece of long blonde hair.
"His Excellency thought you might need some help, seeing as you hadn't checked in for 2 days."
"Some way to help me," she snapped angrily, "and for your information, I stayed longer because I thought I could gain us some valuable information. I had the situation under control." So it wasn't entirely the truth, but Dorothy didn't need to know that.
"Really?" she asked in that sarcastic tone of hers, one of her forked eyebrows rising archly. "What if I had been Heero Yuy? He wouldn't have just pressed the gun to your back, you know." She said it with the same neutral sarcasm, and it irritated Blade to the ends of the earth. It took nearly all her self-restraint to not slap the girl on the spot, and it annoyed her even more to see that Dorothy knew what she wanted to do, knew that she wouldn't do it, and was enjoying every moment of her frustration.
"He wouldn't have found me," she replied icily, trying to let out her anger in that one phrase. "And that's no way to talk to your commanding officer. Remember, you work under me."
"Whatever you say… ma'am." Blade glared at the girl's insolent tone, but said nothing to the last remark.
"Where are the others?" she demanded.
"They're not here at the moment," was the reply in that sarcastically deceptive voice. Somehow, she guessed that there was more to this story than she was being told. "It's just you and me." Her eyes narrowed.
"Did you take care of the security system?" Blade asked.
"Of course. The shuttle's around the back."
"Let's go, then."
"I thought you'd never ask."
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After an hour of futile searching, the four of them met up again in front of the wrecked observation room. There had been no traces of the path in which their captive left, and they soon found out that before her departure she had disabled the security system as well. The motion sensors and cameras outside the house proved to be useless, and it had taken a while to get them back up again.
"She's probably long gone by now, Heero," Quatre approached him, his eyes fixed on one of the security screens that showed the scenery of the setting sun. The Japanese teen did not reply, but merely stared hard at the same screen as Quatre. Finally, after a silence had settled on them, he seemed to come to a decision.
"Have you called Noin yet?" he asked.
"Uh… no, I haven't."
"I can do that," Duo said quickly, wanting to be away from the tension-strung silence. He tried to leave the room before anybody had time to object, but Heero's quick hand caught his arm before he had made it very far.
"Tell her that I found the keys she lost." Duo looked at him questioningly, as if disbelieving what he was hearing. Then comprehension dawned on him, and he nodded grimly before walking out to make that delayed phone call.
***************
The door closed behind her with a loud bang, and she was left to stand in her tattered glory in front of her superior officer. The lighting was very dim, and she could only vaguely see the outline of a person sitting at a large antique desk with his head bent down over a stack of papers. As soon as the door had shut, however, the figure had lifted his head to stare at her, and she suddenly felt herself becoming very nervous.
"You wanted to see me, sire?" The figure stood up and walked around the desk, then slowly made his toward her. She was suddenly self-conscious of her appearance, as she knew she must look like a wreck.
He was standing directly in front of her now, and the light played across his light brown hair and high cheekbones. His eyes were not neutral, as she'd thought they would be, but instead held an emotion she couldn't recognize and something akin to concern.
"Are you alright, my Lady?" he asked, reaching a hand out to touch on of her open wounds that still hadn't healed. "You should've gotten these tended to first." He removed his hand, and the white glove he was wearing was stained blood red.
"I was told that you requested my presence immediately, Your Excellency, unless I was misinformed…"
He waved his hand in dismissal. "As long as you are alright, Lady. Are you all right?"
"Of course, sir."
"Good."
Silence hung between them, and Blade tried to keep her eyes focused straight ahead as Treize walked around her, examining her injuries.
"Did they take everything?"
At first she didn't comprehend his question. "The pilots, sir?"
"Yes. They must've searched you when you were captured." She winced at the use of the word 'captured.'
"Yes, sir. I left the rifle behind and they took all but one. I ran into Dorothy inside the house after I had gotten free."
His hand went to the top of her bra where the lock-pick was kept. "And this was the one they didn't take," he said it casually as his hand removed the little piece of metal, and Blade hoped he didn't notice that that touch had made her blush furiously.
"Are the others here, sir?" she asked, trying to regain her composure.
"Most of them," he said evenly, his eyes never leaving her face. "The meeting is tomorrow, after all. You know well enough to know they'd be here. They'd all be here, but Five got called to an emergency meeting."
"Pardon my question, sir, but why did you send Dorothy to free me if the others were here?"
"She's just as good as the others, isn't she? She volunteered to go, so I let her. Was there a problem?"
"No, sir, it's just—well, you know that she and I… we don't—"
"You don't get along?" he finished for her, and she flushed at how childish it sounded. "I knew perfectly well, Lady. But you must never let your personal feelings influence your judgement. It's not like you to fail," he added, and she flushed again, lowering her eyes. "Consider it your punishment."
"Yes, sir," she said softly, not looking up. She felt his hand beneath her chin, and he lifted her face up to look at his. She was surprised how much his opinion meant to her, and she couldn't stand the thought of failure written in his eyes. But his face remained neutral, except for that unidentifiable emotion she had seen before that still lingered in his eyes. He spoke to her in a strangely gentle voice, although his orders were firm, and his hand was still holding her chin.
"Get those wounds tended to, and then clean up and get some rest. It's a big day tomorrow and I'm sure you could use it." His hand dropped away, but he had taken a step closer, and she found the invasion of her personal space somewhat hostile. Involuntarily she took a step back.
"Yes, sir," she replied curtly. And, not waiting for him to dismiss her, she turned around and fled.
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[Next Day: 0900 hours, Marge Charlotte Institute, Colony L2]
"So, everyone is here except for Mr. Maxwell, Miss Violet, and Mr. Yuy, is that correct?" the teacher read aloud, frowning as she marked the attendance for the day, surprised to see that three of her top students were missing.
I wonder where they could be…***************
A large black limousine could be seen driving through the broad iron gates of the Winner estate early the next morning, where Quatre Winner himself came to greet his guests. The first to exit the car was a woman with honey-blonde hair in twists, which the host greeted warmly and beckoned inside. The second person to exit was another woman with short dark hair, followed by a man with long pale-blond hair that seemed to be protective of the woman who had gotten out before him. The host greeted them all fondly, and he walked with them inside as the butler shut the large white doors behind them.
As soon as the doors were locked and the servants gone, the façade of a cheerful visit was dropped from the visitors' faces, as well as the host's own and the faces of his earlier visitors. Once they were in a soundproof room and the door was locked behind them, they started to go about their business.
"We got here as soon as we could," Noin began, concern seeping into her voice and surfacing on her face. "What's happened?"
"It could be nothing, or it could be everything," Heero answered her, his face grim. "Yesterday I had a… conversation with Dr. J," he began, not really knowing how to say what he knew. "He started to talk about X18999, and how Operation Meteor wasn't Dekim Barton's idea."
"Wait," Zechs interrupted him. "Why would he tell you this?"
Heero gave him a scathing look. "I don't know," he said icily. "He went on to say that the whole thing was Treize's idea, and that something major was going to happen soon, something that could affect all of us."
"The man's been prone to lie, Heero. Do you really believe him?" Sally asked, her scepticism apparent on her face.
"I know that," he admitted, "but he doesn't do these things for fun. He said that the situation around me would be all the proof I needed."
"What situation?" Noin prodded.
"He said that someone close to me would be missing, and that someone who had just entered my life would be the source of my problems and the key to solving them."
"Not a very straightforward kind of guy, is he?" Zechs observed.
"So you're saying that the person close to you that's missing is Wufei, but what about this new person entering your life thing?" Noin asked.
"That's Blade," Duo answered for Heero. "At least, that's what we know her as. She enrolled in our school not too long ago; she's the one that tried to kill Relena." He said the last part a little nervously, his glance shifting to Zechs. The man's eyes were as cold as ice.
"But she's escaped now," Sally finished the statement.
"We examined that weapon she used, by the way," Noin said to the four of them. "You're not going to believe this, but it's made out of gundanium alloy and runs on an intense chemical reaction that is channelled out into a laser. It's a very advanced weapon and she'd have to work for someone who's got some money to through away to be able to afford something like that."
"But where would you get something like that?" Trowa's question came unexpectedly.
"There's not too many factories that are allowed to manufacture gundanium, so we're tracing it back to the legal sources first. Of course, there's always someone who's producing something illegally, so if the factories turn out to be a dead end we'll have to deal with the back-alley sellers."
"So we're assuming that we believe the doctor's story?" Sally asked in verification.
"With what we have so far, it looks like he's telling the truth," Noin answered her. "Wufei's failed to check in for more than 72 hours and he's disappeared off the GPS tracking entirely. You seem to know this assassin," she said, looking at Heero and Duo, "but we don't really know what her intentions are or who she works for."
"So we're pretty much back where we started," Duo said despairingly.
"Not entirely," Zechs corrected. "You know who she is, or at least what she looks like, so we could do a background check on her at Preventers' HQ with the mainframe. We'll start tracking Wufei to see where his last known position was, and then take it from there."
They all nodded their consent.
"In the meantime, you should all lie low for a while, and watch yourselves," Noin added. "And don't go doing anything hasty," she said, giving a sideward glance at Heero. "Right now we should be most concerned about Relena's condition. We should also taking turns watching her, since this assassin of yours might come back to finish the job. I'll try to do as much as I can."
Everyone looked at each other grimly, and an understanding passed between them. Like in the wartime of the years before, there had been no need for words. It was a soldier's knowledge that each shared, and the burden of responsibility that was upon them all did not seem so heavy.
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The vid-phone turned on almost as soon as his commanding officer had left after making her daily report. He knew the effect he had on her, and it amused him to see those rosy blushes that stained her cheeks at his littlest action. She was so much like Lady Une that it startled him somewhat.
The bright light and the voice from behind him reminded him that he had a call to answer. Turning around, he greeted his caller.
"Dr. J," he saluted briefly. "I take it you've done what I asked?"
The Doctor muttered something incoherent under his breath. Treize laughed.
"He didn't take it too well, I'm assuming?"
"That's a dire understatement," the Doctor snorted. "If he could, I think he would've come through the screen to strangle me."
"He'll understand why I'm doing this as soon as he finds out. I just needed him to know that bit of information."
Dr. J's face grew grave. "You're playing a dangerous game, Treize. You know what each of them can do. The two of them together… well, the world would tremble at their feet. I should know; I trained them, after all. If either of them ever finds out—"
"But they won't, will they?" Treize interrupted smoothly. "You've kept it secret from him for so many years, and I've never said anything to her, either. Only Theresa* knew, and we've gotten rid of that problem."
"I just wanted to warn you," the Doctor's voice held slight irritation. "I'm not the one he'll be after."
"I realize," the aristocrat replied. "Did you finish the suits?"
"The five Zephras are done for the squad, and your Deimos is almost complete. There are a couple thousand Viros, and about ten thousand Eagles so far. We're having a bit of trouble mass-producing them without anyone noticing, so it's taking a bit longer than expected.
"How much longer do you think it's going to take?"
"To reach the numbers you want, maybe another 4 or 5 days. It's mostly the atmospheric shields that take the longest to manufacture. But if you want, I can send those Zephras to you now. They're a piece of real beauty. You can give the squad a head start, and then the rest can join them later."
Treize nodded his approval. "Do that. Contact me as soon as they're complete."
"Of course. Just keep those soldiers of yours fit and ready to pilot them; my suits aren't going to be easy to control."
"Have them done; I'll take it from there."
And with that, he terminated the connection.
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The five girls of the elite squad filed into the conference room and each took a seat at the five lined chairs. Each wore her emerald green uniform, with the gold buttons and trimmings accentuating the dark green velvet. The pants were of the same green colour, except that they were made with a tougher fabric. They wore the standard military boots, and their belts could carry weapons and ammunition.
Another door that joined to the room opened, and Treize Kushrenada, head of their organization and their superior officer, stepped out. His was wearing his usual blue attire, with the black cape draped casually over one of his shoulders. His knee-high made no sound on the parquet floor as he walked to the head of the table and sat down. He laced his white-gloved fingers together and looked at them all intently.
"You know why I've called you here," he began. "We've been secretly pursuing our goal for years, and now, at last, we can taste its fruition. Tomorrow will be the day you have all waited for. Your suits are ready, and you can finally fight for your cause." He paused briefly and looked at them all, then continued on again. "They will be sent to different places over the globe." He opened a folder that had previously been sitting on the desk, and handed a file to each of them. "The exact co-ordinates will be in here, as well as schematics for your suit and orders for your first mission. Once you have learned all of this by heart, destroy the file." Then he looked to Sally.
"So, what did our rivals say at the emergency meeting?" he asked.
"Nothing too relevant," she replied, her face neutral. "They know who Blade is and they plan to do a background check on her to see what they can find. They're also trying to track Wufei, but that's about all that's been decided on. They're worried about the Vice Foreign Minister's condition, so that's what the focus is on right now."
He nodded as she finished her report, and glanced over all their faces once more before speaking again. "As of now, you have no name. Each of you has a code, and until this is over, that is who you are. You will continue to receive orders through your suits and I expect them to be carried out quickly and effectively. We are the revolution, is this is what we do. Is that understood?"
A scraping of wood against wood could be heard as the five officers stood up abruptly. Each brought her hand smartly to her brow, and shouted out the one salutation.
"Yes, sir!"
Somewhere, a thousand miles away from the scheming revolutionists, a monotone flat line could be heard echoing in the white halls of the hospital. Shouts could be heard as nurses and doctors rushed in to see to the patient. But it was no use.
Relena Darlian Peacecraft, Vice Foreign Minister of the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, had died.
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*For those of you that don't remember, Theresa is the name of Blade's mother. It's mentioned in chapter 3, but I don't think you'd remember that far back.
Author's Notes: Well, that was quicker than usual, wasn't it? It only took me 16 days to get this up! *gasps* I think I must be sick or something. Anyways, thanks always to those who reviewed the last chapter: Yami Hikaru (contradicting name, isn't it? Yami means darkness and hikari means light, so Yami Hikaru must mean… light of darkness?), GW Dark Chyld, Blazing-moon, and Meghanna Starsong. You guys have been the greatest for sticking with me for this long, and I appreciate all your comments on my writing. I do feel my writing has improved since I first started, and thanks to Meghanna for mentioning that. Again, thanks so much to everyone. I really couldn't have made it this far without you.
Enjoy the chapter, because there probably won't be another update as fast as this one ever again, unless the writing bug bites me.
Until next time,
~Seeress
