Rendezvous
She was glad they hadn't destroyed the gundams. Otherwise her job would be one hell of a lot harder. The young woman walked through the maze of mobile suits, most old Alliance models - Libras, Leos, Virgos. But even at the opposite end of the enormous warehouse, she could see it. She could see the Zero. In the purloined uniform, she looked just like any other Academy student. This was the warehouse, the one where the five gundams had been stored. For all she knew they could be there. He could be there. Nanashi might be in the same room as she. She strode up to the suit, watching the rope lower down with a smile on her face. There was no safeguard. Riding the 'elevator' up to the entrance, she didn't even glance around. She should have done so.
*
She was almost done. Slitting the rest of the wires, she moved onto the Zero system. The black box was just over her head. With her knife, she traced the exterior of the cold metal box and hoped no one could hear the dying wires sputter and crackle. Then she felt a good deal of weight transfer onto the floor of the suit's interior. The spy looked up and saw.nothing. A person stood before her, but she didn't know whom. Then she froze and realized her wrists were in the air.
He took the skinny little wrists and tried to make out a face. He could tell it was a woman, but beyond delicate wrists and pale blonde hair, he had no idea who it was. Heero heard her sigh, as if in defeat. "I know one of us is going to get expelled for this." he said, satisfied.
She realized she had one advantage. She stuck one leg out between the officer's legs and the other on the outside of his thigh and artfully flipped the man down into the seat. She hovered over him for a moment and then sat straddling him. She reached for her gun. But once again he came out on top. She heard a metallic sound behind her, and by the time she looked behind her, the only escape was sealed. She was speechless. "Now that accomplished a lot," he said. "Dammit!"
He went about trying to see what damage she had done. He couldn't turn it on, he couldn't find a flashlight. The girl in his lap started hyperventilating. It made his work that much harder. "Calm down. You're fine." "I can't.I can't breathe." she rasped. He found a penlight and shone it in her face. "You can breathe," he whispered. She relaxed a little bit and he looked her over. She was willowy, petite, and pretty. She looked extremely pale in the little white beam of light, and her eyes got bigger by the second. But she was beginning to calm. He went back to the repairs. "What the Hell did you do?' "Slit the wires." "I can see that," he yelled. She was only beginning to realize what she had done. "Can you.fix it?" she whispered. "Dunno."
She couldn't feel her left leg. He had definitely intimidated her, but she realized she was okay. She could see him in the flashlight's light, but only barely. Chocolate brown hair ran into deep blue eyes. He was a foot from her face, yet he didn't look up at her. The silence was more suffocating than the confined space. She wanted to speak, to make this hellish place a bit more bearable. But she was - afraid. "Who are you?" he asked, slipping his arm between her arm and side. She tried to move to accommodate him. "Midii Une." "That's a nice start." "I'm with the new Alliance," she sighed. "Spy?" "Basically." "What do you want with the Gundam?" he asked. She looked down. "Um.the Zero system. It's going to-" "The highest bidder," he finished. She nodded. "But why did you kill the power?" "To mess you up." "Well, it worked." "Can you fix it?" she asked again. "Let me work." "We're going to die." "Not if I can help. Here, see that? We need to get those wires fixed," he said, pointing to the console. She heard a tone of almost compassion in his voice.
*
It was getting harder to breathe. It had been easy tricking her into lowering her blood pressure - she trusted him more. Death threats could be saved for another day.. He knew she would probably pass out before. It was sweltering. She had shed the leather jacket and uniform shirt; his shirt was somewhere on the floor. He almost laughed. Here he was with some chick from the Alliance, half-naked, and Duo was probably running around trying to find him. Then he had an idea. "Doesn't the Alliance issue coms?" "Yeah.I have mine. But it's on an Alliance frequency." "That's fine. Give it to me and hold the flashlight," he said. She took off the wrist piece and held up the penlight. Midii was getting tired and dehydrated. She didn't know how long she could survive. He changed the outgoing frequency, making the tiny intercom squeal with feedback. Finally she heard the sounds of a bar. "Duo!" he said. "Duo Maxwell!" "Hello?" she heard from the intercom. "I'm in an interesting situation," Heero said.
*
The Jaws of Life. That's what Duo called the double round saw blades that could cut through anything. He could hear them outside the hatch, nearing them. Heero pulled both of their feet closer to the seat of the Gundam, and then put the spy's head under his chin. She had lost consciousness almost as soon as he had gotten Duo. All he needed was for her to get diced by the Jaws. Slowly, light filtered into the stifling metal space. Bit by bit he could see Duo in a cherry picker, obviously dying to see the Alliance Spy. As fresh air and light rushed in, he looked at the girl. She looked young, maybe eighteen or so. Heero could feel her breathing deepen, slowly but surely.
Duo looked into the suit. Heero was looking down at an extremely hot, scantily clad sweaty blonde. He put that stupid grin on his face. Heero didn't have a shirt on. "We interrupting anything?" he yelled. Heero raised a middle finger at him. "Guess so," he said to himself. He watched as Yuy stood up shakily and carried the girl out of the Gundam.
*
She awoke in an interrogation room. She sat all the way up and felt the indentations from the handcuffs she wore. Une stared into the face of her interrogator, a Chinaman. She slouched back and crossed her arm. "Hello, Miss Une." "Hey." "We are extremely. interested . in your intentions with the Zero." "That makes several of us." "Are you a spy for the new Earth Sphere United Alliance? "Who wants to know?" "You have no rights." "Well then." "Miss Une."
Duo and Heero watched from the window. Wufei was getting nowhere fast. Midii Une sat and played him, running circles around him. She was an agent. She could say anything to confuse him, and she would use all of her tricks. Finally Duo couldn't watch anymore. He walked into the room and dismissed Wufei. "Midii," he said, lacing his fingers and taking a curious pose. "Are we on first-name basis?" "You tell me." "I really haven't committed a crime," she said, leaning forward. "Today. Your dossier is five inches thick." "You can tell, just by looking?" "What were you doing out there?" "Lifting the system" "For whom?" "I can't tell you." "Why, Midii?" he asked. This was getting excruciating. "Because you're a stranger," she said with a half-smile. "Damn. I don't have time for this." "Neither do I." "I'm really tempted to bring Heero in here." "Do your worst, Maxwell." "You know." "I know everything."
*
"We need her," Heero argued. The three pilots sat in silence, unable to vocalize. Wufei appeared to be sleeping with his eyes open. "You just want her around," Duo said. He was tired of the girl. "I can't hack into major systems like she can. Duo, she decoded the Zero system.in an hour." "Impossible." "She trained in hacking for years. And she's what we need. You and I both know that there are other Gundams out there. It's only a matter of time until we'll need them again." "Heero, man, I'm on your side. Really. But all I'm saying is that I'm not to excited about the prospect of working with-" "Unless you can find anyone more qualified, she's in. Don't make me shoot you." "Fine. But we better find Trowa."
Quatre Winner sat in the cold, sterile room, just watching her. She was fooling with the handcuffs. Every so often she would look up at him and go back to whatever she was doing. She seemed somehow bored with the process. He had stopped asking questions. "Are you hungry?" he asked. Anything would be better than the airless silence. "Sure," she said. It was remarkable how soft her voice was, so misleading. He got up and left the room.
She watched him close the door behind him. Midii fought back tears. He was a pilot. Quatre Winner had gotten publicity until after the Eve Wars for being the 04 pilot. He knew the soldier without a name. He had been seen with Nanashi. He was back before she could realize he was gone. He threw a bag of fast food and a bottled water at her. "We have a proposition for you."
She was glad they hadn't destroyed the gundams. Otherwise her job would be one hell of a lot harder. The young woman walked through the maze of mobile suits, most old Alliance models - Libras, Leos, Virgos. But even at the opposite end of the enormous warehouse, she could see it. She could see the Zero. In the purloined uniform, she looked just like any other Academy student. This was the warehouse, the one where the five gundams had been stored. For all she knew they could be there. He could be there. Nanashi might be in the same room as she. She strode up to the suit, watching the rope lower down with a smile on her face. There was no safeguard. Riding the 'elevator' up to the entrance, she didn't even glance around. She should have done so.
*
She was almost done. Slitting the rest of the wires, she moved onto the Zero system. The black box was just over her head. With her knife, she traced the exterior of the cold metal box and hoped no one could hear the dying wires sputter and crackle. Then she felt a good deal of weight transfer onto the floor of the suit's interior. The spy looked up and saw.nothing. A person stood before her, but she didn't know whom. Then she froze and realized her wrists were in the air.
He took the skinny little wrists and tried to make out a face. He could tell it was a woman, but beyond delicate wrists and pale blonde hair, he had no idea who it was. Heero heard her sigh, as if in defeat. "I know one of us is going to get expelled for this." he said, satisfied.
She realized she had one advantage. She stuck one leg out between the officer's legs and the other on the outside of his thigh and artfully flipped the man down into the seat. She hovered over him for a moment and then sat straddling him. She reached for her gun. But once again he came out on top. She heard a metallic sound behind her, and by the time she looked behind her, the only escape was sealed. She was speechless. "Now that accomplished a lot," he said. "Dammit!"
He went about trying to see what damage she had done. He couldn't turn it on, he couldn't find a flashlight. The girl in his lap started hyperventilating. It made his work that much harder. "Calm down. You're fine." "I can't.I can't breathe." she rasped. He found a penlight and shone it in her face. "You can breathe," he whispered. She relaxed a little bit and he looked her over. She was willowy, petite, and pretty. She looked extremely pale in the little white beam of light, and her eyes got bigger by the second. But she was beginning to calm. He went back to the repairs. "What the Hell did you do?' "Slit the wires." "I can see that," he yelled. She was only beginning to realize what she had done. "Can you.fix it?" she whispered. "Dunno."
She couldn't feel her left leg. He had definitely intimidated her, but she realized she was okay. She could see him in the flashlight's light, but only barely. Chocolate brown hair ran into deep blue eyes. He was a foot from her face, yet he didn't look up at her. The silence was more suffocating than the confined space. She wanted to speak, to make this hellish place a bit more bearable. But she was - afraid. "Who are you?" he asked, slipping his arm between her arm and side. She tried to move to accommodate him. "Midii Une." "That's a nice start." "I'm with the new Alliance," she sighed. "Spy?" "Basically." "What do you want with the Gundam?" he asked. She looked down. "Um.the Zero system. It's going to-" "The highest bidder," he finished. She nodded. "But why did you kill the power?" "To mess you up." "Well, it worked." "Can you fix it?" she asked again. "Let me work." "We're going to die." "Not if I can help. Here, see that? We need to get those wires fixed," he said, pointing to the console. She heard a tone of almost compassion in his voice.
*
It was getting harder to breathe. It had been easy tricking her into lowering her blood pressure - she trusted him more. Death threats could be saved for another day.. He knew she would probably pass out before. It was sweltering. She had shed the leather jacket and uniform shirt; his shirt was somewhere on the floor. He almost laughed. Here he was with some chick from the Alliance, half-naked, and Duo was probably running around trying to find him. Then he had an idea. "Doesn't the Alliance issue coms?" "Yeah.I have mine. But it's on an Alliance frequency." "That's fine. Give it to me and hold the flashlight," he said. She took off the wrist piece and held up the penlight. Midii was getting tired and dehydrated. She didn't know how long she could survive. He changed the outgoing frequency, making the tiny intercom squeal with feedback. Finally she heard the sounds of a bar. "Duo!" he said. "Duo Maxwell!" "Hello?" she heard from the intercom. "I'm in an interesting situation," Heero said.
*
The Jaws of Life. That's what Duo called the double round saw blades that could cut through anything. He could hear them outside the hatch, nearing them. Heero pulled both of their feet closer to the seat of the Gundam, and then put the spy's head under his chin. She had lost consciousness almost as soon as he had gotten Duo. All he needed was for her to get diced by the Jaws. Slowly, light filtered into the stifling metal space. Bit by bit he could see Duo in a cherry picker, obviously dying to see the Alliance Spy. As fresh air and light rushed in, he looked at the girl. She looked young, maybe eighteen or so. Heero could feel her breathing deepen, slowly but surely.
Duo looked into the suit. Heero was looking down at an extremely hot, scantily clad sweaty blonde. He put that stupid grin on his face. Heero didn't have a shirt on. "We interrupting anything?" he yelled. Heero raised a middle finger at him. "Guess so," he said to himself. He watched as Yuy stood up shakily and carried the girl out of the Gundam.
*
She awoke in an interrogation room. She sat all the way up and felt the indentations from the handcuffs she wore. Une stared into the face of her interrogator, a Chinaman. She slouched back and crossed her arm. "Hello, Miss Une." "Hey." "We are extremely. interested . in your intentions with the Zero." "That makes several of us." "Are you a spy for the new Earth Sphere United Alliance? "Who wants to know?" "You have no rights." "Well then." "Miss Une."
Duo and Heero watched from the window. Wufei was getting nowhere fast. Midii Une sat and played him, running circles around him. She was an agent. She could say anything to confuse him, and she would use all of her tricks. Finally Duo couldn't watch anymore. He walked into the room and dismissed Wufei. "Midii," he said, lacing his fingers and taking a curious pose. "Are we on first-name basis?" "You tell me." "I really haven't committed a crime," she said, leaning forward. "Today. Your dossier is five inches thick." "You can tell, just by looking?" "What were you doing out there?" "Lifting the system" "For whom?" "I can't tell you." "Why, Midii?" he asked. This was getting excruciating. "Because you're a stranger," she said with a half-smile. "Damn. I don't have time for this." "Neither do I." "I'm really tempted to bring Heero in here." "Do your worst, Maxwell." "You know." "I know everything."
*
"We need her," Heero argued. The three pilots sat in silence, unable to vocalize. Wufei appeared to be sleeping with his eyes open. "You just want her around," Duo said. He was tired of the girl. "I can't hack into major systems like she can. Duo, she decoded the Zero system.in an hour." "Impossible." "She trained in hacking for years. And she's what we need. You and I both know that there are other Gundams out there. It's only a matter of time until we'll need them again." "Heero, man, I'm on your side. Really. But all I'm saying is that I'm not to excited about the prospect of working with-" "Unless you can find anyone more qualified, she's in. Don't make me shoot you." "Fine. But we better find Trowa."
Quatre Winner sat in the cold, sterile room, just watching her. She was fooling with the handcuffs. Every so often she would look up at him and go back to whatever she was doing. She seemed somehow bored with the process. He had stopped asking questions. "Are you hungry?" he asked. Anything would be better than the airless silence. "Sure," she said. It was remarkable how soft her voice was, so misleading. He got up and left the room.
She watched him close the door behind him. Midii fought back tears. He was a pilot. Quatre Winner had gotten publicity until after the Eve Wars for being the 04 pilot. He knew the soldier without a name. He had been seen with Nanashi. He was back before she could realize he was gone. He threw a bag of fast food and a bottled water at her. "We have a proposition for you."