Chapter 4: Infiltration
The next morning came too fast for Jack. He woke up at 7:04, rubbing his eyes and yawning while stretching his arms out. He fell back down on the bed and closed his eyes but he couldn't go to sleep. He flipped his feet over the side of the bed and hopped down. He took one look around and walked slowly out of the room. "Do you thing they'll look kind of ridiculous in these things?" "Not at all. They were pretty flexible." "Yeah, but still." "Sh. Here comes Jack." "Hey guys, what's up?" Jack asked. He heard the voices of Gene and Jim discussing something so he might as well find out. "Uh, nothing, nothing." Jim said quickly. "You guys are doing something." Jack said. "Well, maybe we want you to wear a specific thing on tonight's operation." Gene said. "Oh geeze.you guys.what is it? Show me so I can spit on it." Jack said scornfully. "Here." Jim said, and handed him the suit. "Hey, this looks a lot like...hm.made of cloth but it seems it would fit like it was a swimsuit." Jack said examining the outfit. "Yeah. Heero dropped them off. He said that they would be good in the dark." Jim explained. "No shit. Well, at least we'll get to try them out this time. When does the rest of the crew get here?" Jack asked. "In about 50 more minutes." Gene said looking at his watch. "Well then let's wake up the others and get ready. But we will have to wait until night." Jack said. "Oh, and Jim, write out a plan for us, ok?" Jack asked him. "All right." Jim hollered back, and Jack was all ready down the hall and headed for his room. As soon as he got there, he saw it was a mess. Everything delicate was broken, everything that wasn't, was all over the place. "Ah god. I hate messes like this." Jack complained. He began to scoop up the things on the floor one by one and rest them on some surface. He pushed his bed back against the wall and picked up the mattress and threw it on his bed. He sat on it tiredly and looked around. Still more things. "What a time to pick up a room, when you have to infiltrate complexes in 10 hours or so." Jack said with a sigh. A little after an hour, Quatre walked in to see what was going on. "Hey, I'm kind of sorry about what happened yesterday." He confessed. "Hey no problem. I think I started it." Jack said smiling. "Yes well, do you need any help?" he asked. "Sure. I need all the help I can get." Jack encouraged, and while they picked things up and put them back, they talked. "So, why do you think they would put a huge tower in the middle of nowhere. This city is one place, but it's just a sitting target." Jack said. "Well you would think so, but all these things that happened just after it was constructed happened. Spaceships carrying supplies, passenger ships with VIP's on boards, Nano-Technology stolen, Spacestation 'Harkin' just exploding out of thin air! That place was a huge defensive platform for this planet. Without it this place is a planet that could easily fall under enemy attack." Quatre said. "That bad huh?" Jack asked, and before they knew it they were finished picking things up. "Well thanks for the help. I feel now that I desperately needed it." Jack said, observing his room and looking picking up one last thing. "Well let's go see what everyone has done." Quatre said smiling and they both left the room in search of anything new that the others had devised. "Jim!" Jack yelled from down the hall. Jim turned and waved him over. "Jim, what have you got for me?" Jack asked. "Well, we launch at 11:00 tonight. You will get handguns, but they are silenced. You are limited to 2 extra clips. Use them either sparingly or not at all. I hope you don't have to kill anyone." Jim said. "Or else you might get caught." "We'll be more then careful. I realize this isn't like one of our run-and- gun tactics Jim. How about the other 3?" Jack asked. "Well the leader, Heero, he's going with you. I think he checks out for the best candidate for the mission." Jim told him. "Well then why pick me? He's a one man army." Jack assured him. "True, but safety in numbers. Trust me." Jim said, and walked off down the hallway. "Well, I guess it's me, Mel, and Heero, all stand-alone infiltrees." Jack said. "Well good luck." Quatre said, and proceeded down the hallway in the same direction as Jim. Jack went to the locker room and found the silencer for the handgun he had all ready collected. "First time for everything." Jack said, and he screwed the silencer on without saying a word after that. He put it in his pocket so he could get it out later, and grabbed two more clips and put them in his other pocket. He shut the locker and turned, then leaning on it to think about what might happen. Worst case scenario is that they get caught. But that usually never happens. Maybe a few other times though. It was 10:15 and everyone was about the ship. Gene was handing out weapons, Jim was pacing frantically, and chaos was ensuing everywhere. Jack picked up his uniform and went to his room. As soon as he had fit into it and put the pistol in the side holster, he attached the two clips and managed to sneak a grenade into one of the pockets. "I'm saving this," Jack smiled. "for something special." 30 minutes to mission start. Heero and Jack were waiting for Melfina to get suited up before they left. As soon as they had gotten into a conversation, Melfina walked out of her room. Jack turned his head quickly and was about to speak until he looked at her. The uniform clung to every curve of her and fit tightly. Jack was spellbound, and Jack thought Gene and Jim were too. But Duo was just checking her out, period. "Mel, I ah, don't know how to say this, but, you look terrific." Jack said smiling. "Damn she's fine." Duo said to himself while he turned his head away, but just enough for Jack to hear him and smile. "Thanks." Melfina said and blushed because everyone was looking at her. "Come on everybody. Let's get into town. Heero, how long of a drive do you estimate it is?" Jack asked. "I'd say about 25 minutes." Heero said. "All right. Lets go." Jack said, and the three of them filled out. The three stacked into the car, and sat down comfortably while Heero drove. "Hey Jack. Hey. Put on your radio. The head set is in your right pocket." Jack heard Jim say. He opened it up and pulled out a tiny headset. He put the receiver in his ear and the microphone he attached to his collar. Or what appeared to be his collar. "Read you loud and clear Jim. Are you mission control or something?" Jack asked. "You could say that, yes." Jim told him. "Now listen to me closely. You each have a set of hookshots. They come with only one hook, so damage or break it and you just don't have one. When you get there, the building should look like it's been built in three layers. One layer is the central building, like reception and first floor offices. The second is primary services and support, and the top is research and development." Jim reported. "Are you sure?" Jack asked. "It's just a hunch. I hacked a few files out of their systems last night, but only a few files. The others were encoded heavily. It's like stacking a ton of concrete on a piece of paper." Jim said. "Well that explains a lot." Jack responded. They had reached the outskirts of the city and were now holding positions behind a large boulder and a few trees. "Mel, what can you see?" Jack asked her. She flipped the visor down over her eyes and zoomed in. "I think there is an alleyway right in between those two buildings over there." She said. "Right. We need the cover of darkness to hide exactly where we are." Heero said. "Hey." Jack asked Heero. "Yeah?" he responded. "I thought you guys were just Gundam Pilots, not secret agents." Jack said. "We were. Until they blew them up. Let's go." Heero said. He ran quickly between the two building and waved Melfina and Jack to hurry up. When they had reached the alley, it was almost pitch black. No street lights or anything hung in the particular area, and there were no door to any of the buildings. "Night vision." Jack said. They flipped their visors down and used the chips to see what was around them. "Mines not working properly." Melfina said. "It looks all fuzzy." She said. Jack walked up to her. "You sure it's not working?" Jack asked. "Yeah. It wont come back." She said. "Here, hold my hand. I'll walk you through." Jack told her. She held it tightly, and had to be maneuvered through the pitch-black alleyway. When they reached then end of it, they saw that street lamps showed the way through. They flipped their visors up, and looked around for any pedestrians. "Come on." Heero said, and began to run in between buildings and across streets quickly. "There, over that chainlink fence." Heero said, and made a high jump and after stepping the fence he hopped over it swiftly. "Do exactly as he did Melfina." Jack said, and ran and jumped on the fence and across the high gratings. Melfina looked at the obstacle, and ran as fast as she could at it and leaped higher then either of them did, and managed to almost step on the very top of the fence, and hop down. "Nice." Jack said, and Melfina smiled. Heero backed against the wall of the building, and leaned over the wall. "4 guards. Glock handguns. Light body armor. Got all that?" Heero asked. "Got it. Sounds like they aren't going to be too much of a problem." Jack said. "Yeah, but one or two shots and you're dead." Heero told him. Jack gulped, and waited for the next move. "I think we should take out the forward guard. I see what kind of pattern they are following." Heero told him. "Like how. String him up or kill him?" Jack asked. "Knock him out." Heero told him, and turned the corner and began to sneak up behind the person. "What's he doing?" Melfina asked. "Wait, wait, wait." Jack said. Heero was inches away from him, and he lifted both his hands and hit the guard on the head as hard as he could. The man made a small noise and hit the ground. Heero lifted him up by the arms and dragged him behind a truck that was parked a few feet from him. "Sleep tight." Heero said, and dropped his body behind the vehicle. He waved for the others to hurry, and they ran to his current position. "This looks like a good spot to start." Heero said, and point up at the third block of the building. "Come on. To the side of the complex." Heero said. They ran to the right side of the building, and each of them took out their hookshots. "Aim carefully. Fire." Heero commanded, and the hooks flew through the air and attached to the third layer. "Shit. Mine didn't make it. It's only on the second." Jack said. "You can hold on to me as we go up there." Melfina told him. "Ok." Jack sighed, and they began to scale the wall slowly. Soon, Jim radioed in to check their status in the infiltration. "You guys on the wall?" Jim asked over the comm. "Yeah. Kind of cool, but did I mention that I hate." Jack said. "Yeah, yeah. Hate heights." Jim said. "Yeah." Jack said. "So how does is look? Anything gone wrong yet?" Jim asked sincerely. "Nope. Smoothly. One guard is sound asleep and is hidden in the brush. We are on our way to the top and have no worries." Jack said. "Sounds too easy. Well I'll check back in later. See you until then." Jim said, and tuned out the radio. "Well he says that this is too easy, and I think it is too. But I think it's just because we have an expert with us." Jack said. Heero smiled slightly. "I'm flattered. But I haven't done this before, actually." Heero said. "You know, while we still have a few hundred feet to go, let's talk. Heero, you're the heartless soldier so you get to pick a topic." Jack said. "Ha. What would I have to talk about?" Heero asked. "Anything casual. I'm trying to get that cold feeling out of you in trade for some decent conversation." Jack told him. "Well, casual you say?" Heero asked. "Anything." Jack said. "Then perhaps we should talk about girls, seeing as how I have a nagging thorn in my side all ready." Heero said, this time smiling. "Ahem." Melfina spoke up. "Sorry. Well this girl in particular is not a thorn in my side at least." Jack said, moving his climbing a bit closer to hers. "Well I'm happy for you at least." Heero said with a grin. "Relena isn't so bad Heero. She can be pesky, demanding, preppy, complains a lot, doesn't understand sometimes, need I go on, but at least the girl is there Heero. Make a move while you still have guts to call your own before they are splattered on the wall." Jack said. "Well, that is a very good example, I think. But why her. We don't bond. We don't mix and match or anything. We are just too different." Heero said. "Well not entirely. Both of you have no fear of dying, and tend to take matters in your own hands from time to time recklessly. Especially you Heero." Jack said giving examples as he went along. "You two. How did you guys make it work." Heero asked. "I'm 13 and your what? 16, 17 and your askin' me?" Jack asked patiently. "Well yeah. You seem to get a long very well and things like that." Heero said while concentrating on his rope. "I think I started it. If I hadn't made the first move, I would be so shy around her and she would see me as a friend only." Jack smacked. "That is true." Melfina said, looking at Jack and then at Heero, who shook his head and picked up the pace. "I don't think I will ever understand the female species." Heero grunted. "Well I don't think any man ever will. I think females demand something other then what we can give them unless they tell us." Jack said while doing hand motions to give examples, one hand at a time. "Let me ask you two a um, well serious question. And I'm asking because we nearly fall in the same age category." Heero said. "Yeah, like I'm younger 3 to 4 years then both of you, and I am acceptable. I feel great." Jack said smiling. "That's good to know. Well, have you ever done anything besides being really close friends? I mean, has anything uh, well you know. A serious thing you do in a relationship." Heero asked. "And I thought I would never hear this out of you man. You did good Heero. Well, the only thing that I have done is see her naked, and the rest of the guys' back home have too. No big deal or anything. But we do cuddle sometimes." Jack said, tilting his head and smiling with closed eyes towards Melfina. All she could do was smile and then laugh at Jack's cheerfulness. "Ok, we are at the second floor mark." Heero said. He grabbed the end of the rope and tugged himself over the ledge so he lay on the hard bricking of the somewhat twentieth story. "Nice. But I think I'll puke if I look down. Give me a boost Mel. I'll hold on to you and help you walk up." Jack said. He uncoupled the links of the hookshot that he was already attached to and coupled his to Melfina's rope. "Ok, we go at the same time. I'll hold on to you and we'll kind of walk in a train style." Jack said. Soon, they were off again, up the wall. Jack and Melfina were inching up slowly, since they couldn't go very fast because of rope sharing. Heero, seeing no reason to stay behind, ran the rest of the way. "You sure can go man. How about giving us a hand though." Jack asked. "How? It's all up to you. That would be kind of irrelevant." Heero said, and waved as he climbed back to the top of the thirtieth story. "What's gotten into you Heero? Your like the man everyone wants you to be, but now you are more then that." Jack asked. "I think it's the cans of beverages I had before the mission." Heero said. "What was it labeled?" Jack asked mysteriously. "Mr. Pibb Extra." Heero said while looking back at Jack and scurrying back on top of the ledge. Soon, Melfina and Jack had made it to the top. They uncoupled the links and dropped them on the side. "We're up Jim. And I carried on quite an interesting conversation with Heero actually." Jack reported in. "Good. Well it seems he's more then meets the eye." Jim said laughing. "Now, how do we get the hell out of here? We sure as hell can't jump, let alone go back down the ropes. What do you have for us." Jack asked. "Use the elevator in the building." Jim said. "Do you have no way of getting us out or what?" Jack asked seriously. "Well no. I intended for you to use the building to actually get back down but apparently that was a security issue. But you can do it. If we can take down about 20 Pirates with a plasma rifle, then I'm sure you can sneak past some people in suits and science uniforms." Jim said with a firm comeback. "Well we aren't exactly heavily armed little friend of mine. 2 clips is about enough to take down one floor of security in this place." Jack said to counter his response. "Fine, fine. But you will have to use the elevator. If you can't, use the ventilation system. It runs a network throughout the building." Jim said. "Fine then. But I am going to be a very unhappy covert agent if I come back alive." Jack told him firmly. "You got it." Jim said. "Radio silence from here on. Over and out." "All right Heero. There's the glass over there. Let's have a look." Jack said. They crouched down and flipped the head visors on first. "I'm picking up at least 5 organisms. All fine." Heero said. "I have an x-ray. All I can see is a large shelf with boxes in front of me. I think it's safe to enter." Jack said. "Ok. Uh, but how?" Heero asked. "With this handy blowtorch of course." Jack said, and pulled a blowtorch from his back pocket and crouched down. He began welding a circle in the glass, and after cutting all the way around, he had to find some way to not alert anyone when they entered the building. "Heero, we can't let anyone know we're here. How do we get the glass off quietly?" Jack asked. "Like this." Heero commented, and got right in front of the glass and pushed it in at the top, and as soon as it fell at an angle inward, he grabbed it, and flipped it horizontally. He then pulled it out and set it gently on the ground. "Nice. Where did you learn that?" Jack asked. "I didn't. I just figured it out as I went along." Heero said with a crooked grin. He then ducked down, and climbed in slowly. He then stuck an arm out and waved them inside. Jack went in second. He marveled at the large room and peeked through the cracks in the boxes, to see scientists talking amongst themselves, and plotting something; anything. Jack stuck his head out of the hole to see Melfina. "Come on. Be quiet." Jack warned her. She nodded, and crept in slowly. "Did anyone tell you that you are very flexible?" Jack asked. "No, but I expected it to come from you sometime or later." Melfina said smiling. "I thought so." Jack said smiling. Heero peeked around the corner, and flipped the visor back in its original position. "Listen." Heero said. Jack tuned in closely to see what was so important. "The project is very unstable, I tell him. He does not listen." "Ha. It is obvious he would not. He seems to be here only to serve himself." "I wish we could have shut it down before he locked us in here." "Yes, but if we had we surely would be asked to rebuild it and then be executed." "But it would be for a good cause." "Do you think the guards are listening right now?" "I would hope not. They are the most peculiar people I know." "Yes. They cannot laugh to a good joke or start conversation. They are silent always." "That is the way guards seems to be." "Not now. We must find a means of escape." "But how? These walls must be 2 inches thick!" "Maybe we should expect someone to come from the door and save us." "Wishful thinking. All we can do is sit and wait." "I propose the same idea." With the conversation ended, they all sat at a group of chairs and waited. They talked some more, but mostly just senseless chatter. "You hear that?" Heero asked leaning back into the group of three. "Sounds like they don't want to be here as much as I do." Jack said. "Maybe if we help them, they can tell use anything we need to know." Melfina said. Jack looked at her, and so did Heero. "It's just a suggestion." She said nervously. "And a damn good one." Jack said. "I say we jump out and tell them why we are here. They might not try anything, seeing as how they are prisoners in their own prison." Jack said. "Agreed." Heero confirmed. "One, two, three!" The three of them all jumped out, guns drawn and pointed directly at the scientists. "Wha-what is going on here. I demand an explanation." The scientist rose to his feet and stood firmly. "And so do we. Listen, we aren't here to cause trouble." Jack stated. "Ahem." Heero said with a little wave of his shoulders. "Well maybe a little, but we don't have any quarrel with you. In fact, we think you can help us." Jack stated. The scientists all looked at each other and whispered between them. "Now here's a thought. I'm going to put my gun away, and have it locked in this holster. Now, I'm going to trust you, so don't think I'm not fair." Jack said. He slipped his gun from his hand into the holster on his waist and dropped his hands. One scientist approached and stood directly in front of Jack. "You are a brave young man. Tell me, why are you here?" The scientist stood firmly and fearless. "I have little knowledge of this. Ask him." Jack said, pointing directly at Heero. Heero put his gun back and adjusted his standing. "We are here to investigate the destruction of several ships and stolen technology. The starbase also raises great suspicion." Heero elaborated. "Yes, yes. We can tell you exactly what is going on, but not here. They could be listening to what we are saying. You must get us out of here. Back the way you came!" One of them said. "We cant. The way we came is no longer accessible back down." Melfina said. "We will have to find a way out then." The other said. "But how?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Look!" Heero said. He pointed to an air duct that sat on the far right side of the room. "In there?" Melfina asked. "It's the only way." Heero said. They took off the bars, and began to file inside. The insides were dank, dark, and very cold. "I'm getting chills." Melfina said. "It's an air duct. Hence the name, air." Jack explained. "Hey," Heero whispered from the front "we are getting to another room." Heero went prone and took out his binoculars. "What do you see?" Jack asked. Heero scanned the room immersively. "Two guards. I'd say, M90 Submachineguns." Heero reported. "Not bad. But not good either." Jack said worriedly. "I think we should take them down." Heero said. "Good idea. Do you think you can hit them from this range?" Jack asked. "Too far. I'll have to storm the room." Heero said. "Be my guest." Jack laughed. With one firm kick, Heero blasted into the room with an Iron Fist and hammered one of the guards with a bullet to the head. The other guard panicked and hit the button for the door. It opened slowly, and he fired wildly at Heero. Heero took cover behind a bench and potted plant, securing his cover. "Jack. Get in here damnit!" Heero yelled. Jack crawled through the ducts quickly, with the science team and Melfina behind him. He hopped down and pulled the pistol quickly from its holster. "He left, but I have a feeling he went to alert someone else." Heero said. "Grab his gun and get over here behind me." Jack rushed over and picked up the SMG, and dashed behind Heero. "Melfina, get them in a safe spot. You, with the mustache, get over here." Jack instructed. The scientist hustled over and crouched down. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked, handing him the SMB. "Are you kidding. I was born in Russia. We fight all the time in my country." He said, strapping it over his shoulder and holding it firmly. "You're from Earth?" Jack asked. "Of course." He stated. "Say, what's your name?" Jack asked. "Sergei." He said, and focused primarily on the door. "Come on, I think I head them in here." Jack heard. "Back against the wall." Heero instructed. They were all hidden, and the guards entered unsuspectingly. "Well I was sure they were here." He said. "What happened to Johnson?" on of them asked, and stooped next to the dead guard on the floor. Heero held up three of his fingers. He counted them down one at a time, until there were none left, and they all sprang out and began opening fire. Some of them went down, and the other three retreated back behind the door. "Alert the captain. We have intruders!" he shouted. One of them broke away from the crowd of attackers and ran down the hallway to meet his captain. Heero jumped out and shot one of the others, and when the other turned the corner he shot him too. "It's too late. All we have to do is get out of here and we're safe. We can't sneak out." Heero said, standing erect. "Well we better get out fast because I don't think it will be long before the guards are all over us." Jack said, and waved his hand for Melfina to come out with scientists. "Listen, Sergei, you are our main fire support. We need you for any stiff-ass resistance we come across." Jack said. "You fight well for a little one." Sergei complimented. "Thanks." Jack said, and they bolted out the door with the science team at their heels. "This way." Heero said, and they shuffled behind him as he ran down the hall. They came across a large hallway, which broke off into smaller ones. "Come on." Heero said, and they took a right down the smaller section of the halls. "Where are we now?" Jack asked. "We have to find an elevator. That's all I'm looking for." Heero explained, and they dashed down the hall and stopped at a dead end. "Damn. We have to find another way." Heero sighed, and they turned and ran to the entrance to the large hallway. "Ok then, we'll go that way." Heero pointed. Before they could even move, the sound of the intercom blared a horrid announcement. "Attention! Attention! Intruders located in research area. Special Forces have been deployed. All unidentified personnel will be shot on sight." "Oh no! They have sounded the alarm. Quickly, we must hide!" One of the scientists' said. "We need an elevator!" Heero yelled. "There!" Melfina exclaimed. Down the hall was an elevator that had just landed on the same floor. "Come on!" Heero said. They were about to run for it, but a horde of Soldiers just had just marched down the hall from the same direction they were going. "Hold your ground!" Heero said. Across from them was another hall that had the same kind of layout. "Melfina! Get the science team over there!" Heero instructed. She dashed across and backed against the wall quickly. Special Forces had them pinned down and were continuously firing. "How do we get to the elevator?" Jack asked. "How the hell would I know? The only way would be to take down all these damn guards. But they got us outnumbered and outgunned! We are stuck." Heero shouted. Then, all gunfire stopped. Everything went quiet. Heero and Jack looked at each other, and then back around the corner. "Steven's, take a small detachment." One of them yelled. Jack poked his head around the corner to see four soldiers break away from the squad and began to slowly come down the hallway. "This is our chance. Take em all down." Jack whispered. Sergei stood in position with the M90, and Melfina, Heero and Jack all stood quietly, waiting to strike.
As soon as they were in range, they all jumped out and gunned them down. The other half of the squad opened fire again, and Heero leaped out and nabbed an M90 from one of the dead soldiers, and then he backed against the wall and into another small hallway. "Jack, make a run for the elevator! I'll hold them off!" Heero yelled from down the hall. "Got it! Ok Melfina listen up, I'm gonna make a run for it, so wait here until Heero says otherwise." Jack said. Melfina stood thinking for a moment, and then had a look of horror on her face as she remembered something the pirates had said to her while Jack was in stasis. "Wait Jack! Don't do it!" Melfina screamed. He didn't hear here, and turned the corner and ran, but Melfina leaped and tackled him back into the hallway. "What's the idea Mel? I'm coming back for you." Jack said. "Remember that bit of information I never told you?" Melfina asked. "Yeah. But look, this is a really bad time." Jack explained. "Well they told me that they would kill you later. They set this thing up to happen. If you would have run out there they said that you would be killed. I didn't know what they meant at first, but if you go, then you will die." Melfina said quickly. "Wow. So, that is what this is all about. Well, I guess we'll have to find another way. Oh, and where did you learn to pounce and tackle like that?" Jack asked. "You don't want to know." Melfina said, and she stood up with Jack. "Heero, we need to find another way." Jack yelled. "How?" he asked while turning the corner and firing a chain of bullets, and then jumping back and waiting to fire again. Jack searched frantically for items to use. "Melfina! Grab that fuel drum." He asked. A stack of fuel drums sat in the corner next to a pile of boxes. Melfina walked over and pushed it on its side, and then rolled it towards Jack. "Ok, tell Heero to get out of the way. I need to prep this thing." Jack said. "Heero! Listen! Get as far away from the hall as you can!" Melfina yelled. Jack heard a clamber of footsteps, and pushed the barrel in the hallway. "Heero! Heads up!" Jack yelled. Jack kicked the barrel down the hallway with as much force as he could exhilarate. Heero saw what he was doing, and fired at the canister with his weapon, therefore making explode into a fireball. He ducked against the back of the hallway, and waited as the fire spread out into an inferno throughout the halls of troops. The enemy withdrew into the back way, and waited. "Come on!" Jack yelled. They all dashed into the smoke and fire and crammed themselves into the elevator. "Run Heero!" Jack commanded. He jumped out and dashed for the elevator, leaping inside as it closed and then descended. "I don't think they had any idea what hit them." Jack said laughing and coughing at the same time. "Very clever. Where did you learn such things?" one of the scientists asked. "Broken Arrow." Jack said smiling. "I do not understand." One of them commented. "Nevermind. Heero, how do you presume we get out. They probably have this placed locked down and crawling with Special Forces." Jack asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Let me talk to Jim." Heero insisted, holding out his hand. Jack unclipped his radio, and gave it to Heero. "Jim, are you still there?" Heero asked. "This is Jim. What's going on. I heard some shooting. Is everything alright?" Jim asked. "Well, unfortunately we got ourselves into a bit of a mess. Can you somehow get a layout of this place and load it into one of our visors?" Heero asked. "I don't know. The place has such heavy coding that I don't know if I could." Jim explained. "The base is under lockdown. I'm sure they left all security files under an encryption, and everything that is not important vulnerable. Try it now." Heero commanded. "Very well." Jim said, and he began to hack the files from the computer network. "He's right. Everything, electric consumption, miscellaneous research, building diagnostics, everything! It is all under absolutely no surveillance." Jim said, leaning back and downloading the files. "Alright. I'm going to open a communication channel. If we speak, they can hear us. Don't say a word." Heero said. He flipped his visor down and waited as numbers and symbols filed themselves in order quickly. "Got it." Heero said. "Check this out Jack." Jack moved closer and took out the expansion cord. He hooked it to Heero's visor and looked at all the information Jim provided. "Nice work Jim. Check this out. They have ground levels thirty to thirty-five under total lockdown. Only the ground floor and one through fifteen are under normal security." Jack observed. "This means that." "It means what?" Melfina asked in a peculiar way. "It means they think we haven't gotten any lower then level twenty. The next elevator on level twenty is down the hall on the left. This is the security checkpoint area. Security should be tight." Jack flipped his visor back up and Heero did the same. "Now listen, I think that..." Jack was cut short by the elevator stopping suddenly. "What was that?" one of the scientist asked. "I think they are going to try and get us by cutting off the elevator." Heero explained. He looked up, and noticed a ceiling vent. He pushed himself up on the railing, and knocked it loose. "Everybody up." He demanded. Melfina went first, the science team second, and Jack last. Heero followed, and he put the vent back in its place. "I think we'll have to crawl down." Heero suggested. "Well, lets see where this goes exactly." Jack said, and watched the elevator intently. Soon, it began moving back down, and stopped on level twenty-one. "What do you think is going on?" Melfina asked. "Sh. Listen." Heero said. "Open the door and surrender. We said open the door!" the sound came from a Special Forces Marine. "I bet they think we're in the elevator." Jack said laughing. Soon, several gunshots let out. The elevator soon had several holes being blown into it, and gunfire rang through the shaft. The elevator couldn't take much more of a pounding. Soon, everything went dead. The only noise they heard were the sounds of each other breathing heavily. "Plant it." Jack heard faintly. Soon, an idea popped into his head, and he looked frightened. "Oh shit, go up!" Jack said. They began climbing as fast as they could go, but it want very fast since a group of eight were doing it at the same time. "What exactly is going on?" Heero asked panting. "They're gonna blow it! They think we're inside, and if we somehow managed to survive, then they might as well blow the damn thing!" Jack explained. Their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of a large explosion, and several metal pieces flew into the air to meet them. One his Jack's back, and the other hit Heero in his waist. The others were tiny bits that just bounced off everyone else. "What the hell was that?" Heero asked, now dangling from one arm. "It's called a bomb. You know, boom?" Jack said with a bit of aggravation. "Well, I guess somebody on the other end doesn't like us too much." Heero gasped, then grabbing the cord with both of his hands. "Let's slide down. I think we can get to level one if the climb the rest of the way." Jack explained. "Very well." Heero agreed. They began a slow ascent downward, and when they passed the door that had been blown to ashes, they looked through it, only to see several hallways and rooms. All personnel had left the area. They kept going, and soon had reached the very bottom of the shaft. "I think we should be at level five." Jack said, helping the others down. "Well, I guess you could say we are home free." Heero said quickly. "I don't know. I think security is nominal now, and that everyone is back to their original positions." Jack explained. "Well, why can we not just blast through?" Sergei insisted. "Too risky. Let's see what's outside before we get too involved with out surroundings." Heero picked up a piece of metal, and bent it in the fashion of a crowbar. He then clipped it into the door, and forced it open. "What can you see?" Melfina asked. "I see nothing. No guards, no scientists, no nothing! But there is a dark room down the hall, and a lot of stairs" Heero observed. "Ok then. Get that door open and we can get the hell out of here." Jack said. "Hold on. I think we should still be a little stealthy at least." Heero insisted. "Very well." Jack agreed, and slipped the gun in his holster and never looked at it from that point on. Heero opened the door enough for them to slip out unnoticed, and then they moved into the dark room with quiet footsteps and light breathing. When they reached the door, Heero slid it open and held out his weapon to see if anything was inside. When he spotted nothing, the rest of them moved in, and began discussing their next move. "So far I think we have been lucky." Jack said, sitting in a rolling chair. "I don't think that." Heero said. "So far it's been pure genius that we've gotten this far." Jack rolled across the room and positioned himself at another desk. "How about this. I take a look around and see what is out there?" Melfina suggested, adjusting herself upright. "You think that's a good idea?" Heero asked. "I think it's just fine." Jack said. Melfina nodded and smiled. "Very well. We got your back just in case anything comes your way." Heero reassured her. She stepped out into the small hallway, the lights shinning plainly against her black outfit. She walked to the corner of the hall, and Jack had his pistol drawn and ready for anything to happen. She peeked around the small, attaching halls, to another large one, only this one had more activity. Guards patrolled between smaller halls, and clearly blocked them off from the other side. Melfina walked back to the small room, and leaned on the doorway frame. "So, how is it?" Jack asked. "Well, there are several guards. I think if we tried going through them, we could sound the alarm again." Melfina said worriedly. They all sat there, wondering how they could cut across to the other side. "Hey Mel, is the ceiling dark? Is it really shaded up there?" Jack asked. Melfina took a moment to think. "Yes. It has a small rafter up there and I couldn't see anything." Melfina commented. "Good, good. Hey, you guys, do you think that anyone on this level knows that you have escaped or anything?" Jack asked. "No. I would think not." Sergei concluded. "Melfina, how is your grip?" Jack asked. "My grip? Well I think I can hold on to anything just fine." Melfina said curiously. "Good. Guys, I think that we can solve this problem, simply by climbing on the pipes up in the rafters." Jack explained. "What are you proposing exactly?" Heero asked. "Well, the science team can easily just walk past the guards, and they would look like normal employees. We can hold on to the pipes up in the rafters and crawl across the room, over the guards." Jack said. "Not a bad idea." Melfina commented. "Good, then it's settled. Scientists, when you begin walking, guards will likely stop you on the way. That is when we will boost ourselves onto the pipes and begin moving." Jack said, giving hand motions to show off as an example. After talking it over, the plan was executed. The three of them waited around the corner, as the scientist walked down the hall slowly but yet a fast pace. Soon, as Jack had suspected, two guards stopped them. Heero ran out immediately, crouching down and putting his hand out. Jack ran out and upped himself into the rafters and clung to the pipe. The put his legs around it and began to crawl through the rafters unsuspectingly. The guards continued to question them as Melfina was soon lifted up and did the same as Jack. Heero jumped and made a jump off of the wall, and grabbed the pipes and wrapped his own legs around them. They were all firmly attached to the freezing pipes. They were used to circulate air throughout the complex. Obviously a low budget addition. Melfina clung desperately to the pipes, since this was her first mission. She had no real combat experience. This made it seem futile for her existence, but her commitment and determination showed through. They crawled slowly, sweat dripping from their foreheads, also nervous about the guards right below just might look up. They had to be quiet to get this done correctly. Things seemed to take forever on the ceiling. The scientists were already across the hall, and were just around the corner. The three infiltrees were only three-quarters of the way there. Heero head was wet with sweat, and one drop fell and landed on the floor. A guard stopped dead, and looked at it. He peered down closely. Heero and the others stood perfectly still. If they didn't move, they would blend in with their surroundings. He looked up at the ceiling. All he saw was black, but was mysteriously intrigued at what came down from the roof. He ignored it, and continued on his rounds. Heero sighed, and they moved on. They reached the end of the hallway, and slowly, but quietly, jumped down and ducked behind the corner. When they were all accounted for, they made a dash for the adjacent hallway, and scampered down the stairs. They were in the lobby area now, and peeked around the corner to see what other defenses awaited them. Nothing was there. There were no cameras, no guards, no scientists, no nothing! They had expected a welcoming party waiting for them, but instead got a clear cut across the lobby floor. One of the scientists was about to turn the corner and run, but Heero grabbed his arm and turned him around to face him. "Don't even move." Heero said. He peeked back around the corner, and flipped his visor down. He could see heat signatures all over the lobby, in laser form. "They have infrared beams." Heero told Jack with a sigh. "I knew it looked to easy." Jack said. "How do we get across?" Jack added. "Well, let me figure that out." Heero said. He took the binoculars they had been sharing, and lifted them up. "I see a panel on the other side. It must be the switch for the lasers." Heero said. "What was your first clue?" Jack sarcastically noted. "Listen, one of us will need to cross that floor and deactivate the lasers." Heero explained. "Now which one of us will go is the question." Jack looked around, and the science team all sighed. "I will." Melfina perked up. "You will? Are you sure you can make it?" Jack asked. "Listen, for once Jack, would you stop being so protective of me. I can handle myself as well as you can. Trust me." Melfina begged him. "I trust you." Jack said. He grabbed her hand, and cupped them in his own. "Get those lasers offline." Jack told her. "I will." She responded. She got up, and stood ready to maneuver across the floor. "Here." Heero said. He took the goggles off of his head, and handed them to her. "If you need to see what to do, you these. Just watch the lasers." Heero explained. "I've got it under control." She said winking. She flipped the visor into IR Mode, and slowly walked until she was in front of the first beam. The others could see nothing, but she could see every strand that stood between them and freedom. She ducked under the first laser, and then brought a leg over the next one. She moved herself, still ducking down, across the second and third beam. She laid flat on her back, and crawled under two more. She bent her body backwards, making her move on her hands and legs. She stepped over the next, while staying under all beams above. Jack clenched his teeth, and wished that she were already on the other side. Just then, the visor turned fuzzy and went black. Melfina couldn't see at all! "Uh guys, I think something happened." She shouted. "Oh damn." Jack said. He grabbed the radio and called Jim up. "Jim! We are in deep shit. We need you to pull us out." Jack said quickly. "What's the matter?" Jim asked. "It's Melfina. The goggles went out just as she was crossing a pool of motion detection lasers." Jack explained. "Jesus." Jim said, slapping himself in the face. Jim hesitated for a moment, and tried to think of something to do. "Ok. I'll try to establish a direct uplink to the visor. I don't know if this will work but I'm sure that it will." Jim said. He rolled his chair across the room and sat at a different computer this time. He kept typing and typing, trying desperately to find a way to fix a serious problem. "Hurry Jim." Jack said. He was bringing up windows and closing them. Numbers were flashing across the screen, and he kept going until he just about snapped under the intense mental pressure. Jack, Heero, and the scientist waited patiently, tapping their feet and twiddling their thumbs. Heero heard footsteps in the hallway, and hugged the wall until he reached the edge. A guard was coming down looking for anything he could find. Heero made a hand motion to Sergei to walk over to him. He scurried over, and Heero whispered in his ear. "Listen, try and get that guy to leave." Heero asked. He pointed around the corner, and Sergei nodded. "Good evening. Might I ask why you are following routines here?" Sergei asked, coming out from hiding and trying to cover who he was really working for. "Orders from the captain." The guard said stopping. "And what assumption might the captain have that anything is down here?" Sergei questioned. "Listen, just let me complete my rounds and I can go on elsewhere." The guard said, shoving Sergei out of the way. Heero popped around the corner, and shot the guard in the head directly. He wobbled, and toppled down the stairs, making several thud sounds. "Get his gun!" Heero ordered. Sergei picked it up and tossed it to Heero. "Cmon. We have to hide the body." Heero recommended. They dragged it and pulled it around the corner. Jack turned around to see what had happened. "What the hell did you guys do?" Jack asked with questionable reasoning. "I think they are looking for us." Heero explained with a simple phrase. "Markis, is everything alright down there?" Jack heard. "See." Heero said shrugging. Jack wasted no time. He grabbed the M90 Heero held in his hands and shot the guard until he too hit the floor and fell a few steps. "Ok, now I think we are in trouble." Heero said. A team of two came looking for their missing comrades, and instead found Jack standing over their dead friend. "Sound the alarm!" one of them yelled. Jack managed to shoot one, but the other escaped up the stairs in an effort to warn the others. "Guys, what's going on?" Melfina asked at the sound of gunshots ringing in her ears and some mildly aggressive conversation also catching on. "Uh, well, we seem to be in a bit of problem." Jack replied. He backed against the wall, and it wasn't long before more guards appeared, slowly descending down the stairs. "Heero, grab the damn gun!" Jack yelled. Heero rolled and grabbed the weapon, then backing against the other end of the doorway. The guards tried desperately to hit him, but missed. Both Jack and Heero returned fire, and managed to bring a few more down. When a gun hit the floor, they picked it up and tossed it to a scientist. He then joined in the fight, shooting and ducking all at once. Heero turned the corner again to fire, but one of the guards took deadly aim. He shot, and hit Heero in the leg. Heero toppled over, right in the doorway, vulnerable to anything that was coming. Jack grabbed him and pulled him out of the way quickly. While doing this, Jack was also exposed, and they shot and hit him in the shoulder. As soon as Heero was in the safety zone, Jack grabbed his right shoulder, which now left a large red spot on the dark cloth. "Come on Jim." Jack yelled over the comm. "Almost got it." Jim said with a rushed depth to his voice. After confirming the code, and getting an uplink, the visor became visual again. "I can see!" Melfina proclaimed. She did more maneuvering and ducking. She rolled under a few more, and jumped in-between the last few. She had reached the other side, and she rushed over to the panel and quickly deactivated the lasers by using the code that appeared automatically on her visor when she looked at the controls. "Jack, Heero! Hurry up!" Melfina yelled. All she heard were gunshots. "Jack? Guys?" Melfina yelled. There was no voice response. The scientist ran out, and Jack had Heero hunched on his shoulder. Heero's arm was around him, and he was barely able to walk by himself. Melfina rushed over, and helped hoist Heero over her shoulders. They were halfway out, when the guards came rushing back around to finish the job. Jack let go of Heero, and angrily pulled the trigger of the weapon, killing a few guards, while the others got back behind their cover. Jack continued to shoot, until he heard a click in his cartridge. He dropped the weapon, and ran for the doorway, Melfina already ahead of him. They were exiting through the glass doors, and scampering out into the streets. Jack got outside as the doors closed, and looked around for a place to hide. "Hey! Heero! Guys! Over here!" Quatre yelled, while waving his arms in the air to grab their attention. Heero smirked, and Jack was overjoyed that they had come to get them. The science team was loaded on first, and Heero second, and then Melfina and Jack. "I see you picked up a few freeloaders." Duo commented. "They're with us." Jack said. "Now drive!" The van took off at a high speed, away from the building. "I can't tell you guys what perfect timing that was." Jack said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well actually, we were waiting for you guys the whole time. We expected a bad exit, so we were sent to get you out if anything happened." Trowa responded while driving. Heero was holding his leg, and groaning at the pain. "Geeze Heero. You've been hit with a bullet in the leg before. Why is it so bad now?" Duo said, turning in his seat. "I don't think you understand Duo when it comes to three or four bullets, bigger then my finger, being pumped into you. That last one you gave him was a pistol bullet." Jack explained. "Hey how did you know." Duo said, his voice trailing off. "Don't ask." Jack explained. About halfway through the trip back, Melfina rested her arm on Jack's shoulder, only to feel it was a bit wet. She turned on the light in the van, and saw Jack was bleeding near his shoulder. She gasped loudly, and began to hesitate. "Oh my god. Jack, are, are you alright? Is it bad?" she asked several times. "I'm.fine." Jack lied. It hurt badly, but he didn't want to sound like the only wimp there, so he swallowed the pain and hoped for the best. "Are you sure that." Melfina asked. "Yes Mel. I'm sure. It's not as bad as it looks. Trust me." Jack said. She wouldn't be fooled so easily by his dodgey remarks. "I'm going to look at it when we get back anyway." Melfina said with assertiveness. "Fine, fine." Jack said, clenching his teeth at the pain. He felt dizzy at first, kind of off and on, but it went away after a while. "Mel." Jack said. He felt everything spin and he nearly toppled over. "Yeah Bran - oh my god. You don't look very good." Melfina said. "No, really. I'm fine." Jack gasped, and he felt the car seat hit him in the face, and he fell asleep.
The next morning came too fast for Jack. He woke up at 7:04, rubbing his eyes and yawning while stretching his arms out. He fell back down on the bed and closed his eyes but he couldn't go to sleep. He flipped his feet over the side of the bed and hopped down. He took one look around and walked slowly out of the room. "Do you thing they'll look kind of ridiculous in these things?" "Not at all. They were pretty flexible." "Yeah, but still." "Sh. Here comes Jack." "Hey guys, what's up?" Jack asked. He heard the voices of Gene and Jim discussing something so he might as well find out. "Uh, nothing, nothing." Jim said quickly. "You guys are doing something." Jack said. "Well, maybe we want you to wear a specific thing on tonight's operation." Gene said. "Oh geeze.you guys.what is it? Show me so I can spit on it." Jack said scornfully. "Here." Jim said, and handed him the suit. "Hey, this looks a lot like...hm.made of cloth but it seems it would fit like it was a swimsuit." Jack said examining the outfit. "Yeah. Heero dropped them off. He said that they would be good in the dark." Jim explained. "No shit. Well, at least we'll get to try them out this time. When does the rest of the crew get here?" Jack asked. "In about 50 more minutes." Gene said looking at his watch. "Well then let's wake up the others and get ready. But we will have to wait until night." Jack said. "Oh, and Jim, write out a plan for us, ok?" Jack asked him. "All right." Jim hollered back, and Jack was all ready down the hall and headed for his room. As soon as he got there, he saw it was a mess. Everything delicate was broken, everything that wasn't, was all over the place. "Ah god. I hate messes like this." Jack complained. He began to scoop up the things on the floor one by one and rest them on some surface. He pushed his bed back against the wall and picked up the mattress and threw it on his bed. He sat on it tiredly and looked around. Still more things. "What a time to pick up a room, when you have to infiltrate complexes in 10 hours or so." Jack said with a sigh. A little after an hour, Quatre walked in to see what was going on. "Hey, I'm kind of sorry about what happened yesterday." He confessed. "Hey no problem. I think I started it." Jack said smiling. "Yes well, do you need any help?" he asked. "Sure. I need all the help I can get." Jack encouraged, and while they picked things up and put them back, they talked. "So, why do you think they would put a huge tower in the middle of nowhere. This city is one place, but it's just a sitting target." Jack said. "Well you would think so, but all these things that happened just after it was constructed happened. Spaceships carrying supplies, passenger ships with VIP's on boards, Nano-Technology stolen, Spacestation 'Harkin' just exploding out of thin air! That place was a huge defensive platform for this planet. Without it this place is a planet that could easily fall under enemy attack." Quatre said. "That bad huh?" Jack asked, and before they knew it they were finished picking things up. "Well thanks for the help. I feel now that I desperately needed it." Jack said, observing his room and looking picking up one last thing. "Well let's go see what everyone has done." Quatre said smiling and they both left the room in search of anything new that the others had devised. "Jim!" Jack yelled from down the hall. Jim turned and waved him over. "Jim, what have you got for me?" Jack asked. "Well, we launch at 11:00 tonight. You will get handguns, but they are silenced. You are limited to 2 extra clips. Use them either sparingly or not at all. I hope you don't have to kill anyone." Jim said. "Or else you might get caught." "We'll be more then careful. I realize this isn't like one of our run-and- gun tactics Jim. How about the other 3?" Jack asked. "Well the leader, Heero, he's going with you. I think he checks out for the best candidate for the mission." Jim told him. "Well then why pick me? He's a one man army." Jack assured him. "True, but safety in numbers. Trust me." Jim said, and walked off down the hallway. "Well, I guess it's me, Mel, and Heero, all stand-alone infiltrees." Jack said. "Well good luck." Quatre said, and proceeded down the hallway in the same direction as Jim. Jack went to the locker room and found the silencer for the handgun he had all ready collected. "First time for everything." Jack said, and he screwed the silencer on without saying a word after that. He put it in his pocket so he could get it out later, and grabbed two more clips and put them in his other pocket. He shut the locker and turned, then leaning on it to think about what might happen. Worst case scenario is that they get caught. But that usually never happens. Maybe a few other times though. It was 10:15 and everyone was about the ship. Gene was handing out weapons, Jim was pacing frantically, and chaos was ensuing everywhere. Jack picked up his uniform and went to his room. As soon as he had fit into it and put the pistol in the side holster, he attached the two clips and managed to sneak a grenade into one of the pockets. "I'm saving this," Jack smiled. "for something special." 30 minutes to mission start. Heero and Jack were waiting for Melfina to get suited up before they left. As soon as they had gotten into a conversation, Melfina walked out of her room. Jack turned his head quickly and was about to speak until he looked at her. The uniform clung to every curve of her and fit tightly. Jack was spellbound, and Jack thought Gene and Jim were too. But Duo was just checking her out, period. "Mel, I ah, don't know how to say this, but, you look terrific." Jack said smiling. "Damn she's fine." Duo said to himself while he turned his head away, but just enough for Jack to hear him and smile. "Thanks." Melfina said and blushed because everyone was looking at her. "Come on everybody. Let's get into town. Heero, how long of a drive do you estimate it is?" Jack asked. "I'd say about 25 minutes." Heero said. "All right. Lets go." Jack said, and the three of them filled out. The three stacked into the car, and sat down comfortably while Heero drove. "Hey Jack. Hey. Put on your radio. The head set is in your right pocket." Jack heard Jim say. He opened it up and pulled out a tiny headset. He put the receiver in his ear and the microphone he attached to his collar. Or what appeared to be his collar. "Read you loud and clear Jim. Are you mission control or something?" Jack asked. "You could say that, yes." Jim told him. "Now listen to me closely. You each have a set of hookshots. They come with only one hook, so damage or break it and you just don't have one. When you get there, the building should look like it's been built in three layers. One layer is the central building, like reception and first floor offices. The second is primary services and support, and the top is research and development." Jim reported. "Are you sure?" Jack asked. "It's just a hunch. I hacked a few files out of their systems last night, but only a few files. The others were encoded heavily. It's like stacking a ton of concrete on a piece of paper." Jim said. "Well that explains a lot." Jack responded. They had reached the outskirts of the city and were now holding positions behind a large boulder and a few trees. "Mel, what can you see?" Jack asked her. She flipped the visor down over her eyes and zoomed in. "I think there is an alleyway right in between those two buildings over there." She said. "Right. We need the cover of darkness to hide exactly where we are." Heero said. "Hey." Jack asked Heero. "Yeah?" he responded. "I thought you guys were just Gundam Pilots, not secret agents." Jack said. "We were. Until they blew them up. Let's go." Heero said. He ran quickly between the two building and waved Melfina and Jack to hurry up. When they had reached the alley, it was almost pitch black. No street lights or anything hung in the particular area, and there were no door to any of the buildings. "Night vision." Jack said. They flipped their visors down and used the chips to see what was around them. "Mines not working properly." Melfina said. "It looks all fuzzy." She said. Jack walked up to her. "You sure it's not working?" Jack asked. "Yeah. It wont come back." She said. "Here, hold my hand. I'll walk you through." Jack told her. She held it tightly, and had to be maneuvered through the pitch-black alleyway. When they reached then end of it, they saw that street lamps showed the way through. They flipped their visors up, and looked around for any pedestrians. "Come on." Heero said, and began to run in between buildings and across streets quickly. "There, over that chainlink fence." Heero said, and made a high jump and after stepping the fence he hopped over it swiftly. "Do exactly as he did Melfina." Jack said, and ran and jumped on the fence and across the high gratings. Melfina looked at the obstacle, and ran as fast as she could at it and leaped higher then either of them did, and managed to almost step on the very top of the fence, and hop down. "Nice." Jack said, and Melfina smiled. Heero backed against the wall of the building, and leaned over the wall. "4 guards. Glock handguns. Light body armor. Got all that?" Heero asked. "Got it. Sounds like they aren't going to be too much of a problem." Jack said. "Yeah, but one or two shots and you're dead." Heero told him. Jack gulped, and waited for the next move. "I think we should take out the forward guard. I see what kind of pattern they are following." Heero told him. "Like how. String him up or kill him?" Jack asked. "Knock him out." Heero told him, and turned the corner and began to sneak up behind the person. "What's he doing?" Melfina asked. "Wait, wait, wait." Jack said. Heero was inches away from him, and he lifted both his hands and hit the guard on the head as hard as he could. The man made a small noise and hit the ground. Heero lifted him up by the arms and dragged him behind a truck that was parked a few feet from him. "Sleep tight." Heero said, and dropped his body behind the vehicle. He waved for the others to hurry, and they ran to his current position. "This looks like a good spot to start." Heero said, and point up at the third block of the building. "Come on. To the side of the complex." Heero said. They ran to the right side of the building, and each of them took out their hookshots. "Aim carefully. Fire." Heero commanded, and the hooks flew through the air and attached to the third layer. "Shit. Mine didn't make it. It's only on the second." Jack said. "You can hold on to me as we go up there." Melfina told him. "Ok." Jack sighed, and they began to scale the wall slowly. Soon, Jim radioed in to check their status in the infiltration. "You guys on the wall?" Jim asked over the comm. "Yeah. Kind of cool, but did I mention that I hate." Jack said. "Yeah, yeah. Hate heights." Jim said. "Yeah." Jack said. "So how does is look? Anything gone wrong yet?" Jim asked sincerely. "Nope. Smoothly. One guard is sound asleep and is hidden in the brush. We are on our way to the top and have no worries." Jack said. "Sounds too easy. Well I'll check back in later. See you until then." Jim said, and tuned out the radio. "Well he says that this is too easy, and I think it is too. But I think it's just because we have an expert with us." Jack said. Heero smiled slightly. "I'm flattered. But I haven't done this before, actually." Heero said. "You know, while we still have a few hundred feet to go, let's talk. Heero, you're the heartless soldier so you get to pick a topic." Jack said. "Ha. What would I have to talk about?" Heero asked. "Anything casual. I'm trying to get that cold feeling out of you in trade for some decent conversation." Jack told him. "Well, casual you say?" Heero asked. "Anything." Jack said. "Then perhaps we should talk about girls, seeing as how I have a nagging thorn in my side all ready." Heero said, this time smiling. "Ahem." Melfina spoke up. "Sorry. Well this girl in particular is not a thorn in my side at least." Jack said, moving his climbing a bit closer to hers. "Well I'm happy for you at least." Heero said with a grin. "Relena isn't so bad Heero. She can be pesky, demanding, preppy, complains a lot, doesn't understand sometimes, need I go on, but at least the girl is there Heero. Make a move while you still have guts to call your own before they are splattered on the wall." Jack said. "Well, that is a very good example, I think. But why her. We don't bond. We don't mix and match or anything. We are just too different." Heero said. "Well not entirely. Both of you have no fear of dying, and tend to take matters in your own hands from time to time recklessly. Especially you Heero." Jack said giving examples as he went along. "You two. How did you guys make it work." Heero asked. "I'm 13 and your what? 16, 17 and your askin' me?" Jack asked patiently. "Well yeah. You seem to get a long very well and things like that." Heero said while concentrating on his rope. "I think I started it. If I hadn't made the first move, I would be so shy around her and she would see me as a friend only." Jack smacked. "That is true." Melfina said, looking at Jack and then at Heero, who shook his head and picked up the pace. "I don't think I will ever understand the female species." Heero grunted. "Well I don't think any man ever will. I think females demand something other then what we can give them unless they tell us." Jack said while doing hand motions to give examples, one hand at a time. "Let me ask you two a um, well serious question. And I'm asking because we nearly fall in the same age category." Heero said. "Yeah, like I'm younger 3 to 4 years then both of you, and I am acceptable. I feel great." Jack said smiling. "That's good to know. Well, have you ever done anything besides being really close friends? I mean, has anything uh, well you know. A serious thing you do in a relationship." Heero asked. "And I thought I would never hear this out of you man. You did good Heero. Well, the only thing that I have done is see her naked, and the rest of the guys' back home have too. No big deal or anything. But we do cuddle sometimes." Jack said, tilting his head and smiling with closed eyes towards Melfina. All she could do was smile and then laugh at Jack's cheerfulness. "Ok, we are at the second floor mark." Heero said. He grabbed the end of the rope and tugged himself over the ledge so he lay on the hard bricking of the somewhat twentieth story. "Nice. But I think I'll puke if I look down. Give me a boost Mel. I'll hold on to you and help you walk up." Jack said. He uncoupled the links of the hookshot that he was already attached to and coupled his to Melfina's rope. "Ok, we go at the same time. I'll hold on to you and we'll kind of walk in a train style." Jack said. Soon, they were off again, up the wall. Jack and Melfina were inching up slowly, since they couldn't go very fast because of rope sharing. Heero, seeing no reason to stay behind, ran the rest of the way. "You sure can go man. How about giving us a hand though." Jack asked. "How? It's all up to you. That would be kind of irrelevant." Heero said, and waved as he climbed back to the top of the thirtieth story. "What's gotten into you Heero? Your like the man everyone wants you to be, but now you are more then that." Jack asked. "I think it's the cans of beverages I had before the mission." Heero said. "What was it labeled?" Jack asked mysteriously. "Mr. Pibb Extra." Heero said while looking back at Jack and scurrying back on top of the ledge. Soon, Melfina and Jack had made it to the top. They uncoupled the links and dropped them on the side. "We're up Jim. And I carried on quite an interesting conversation with Heero actually." Jack reported in. "Good. Well it seems he's more then meets the eye." Jim said laughing. "Now, how do we get the hell out of here? We sure as hell can't jump, let alone go back down the ropes. What do you have for us." Jack asked. "Use the elevator in the building." Jim said. "Do you have no way of getting us out or what?" Jack asked seriously. "Well no. I intended for you to use the building to actually get back down but apparently that was a security issue. But you can do it. If we can take down about 20 Pirates with a plasma rifle, then I'm sure you can sneak past some people in suits and science uniforms." Jim said with a firm comeback. "Well we aren't exactly heavily armed little friend of mine. 2 clips is about enough to take down one floor of security in this place." Jack said to counter his response. "Fine, fine. But you will have to use the elevator. If you can't, use the ventilation system. It runs a network throughout the building." Jim said. "Fine then. But I am going to be a very unhappy covert agent if I come back alive." Jack told him firmly. "You got it." Jim said. "Radio silence from here on. Over and out." "All right Heero. There's the glass over there. Let's have a look." Jack said. They crouched down and flipped the head visors on first. "I'm picking up at least 5 organisms. All fine." Heero said. "I have an x-ray. All I can see is a large shelf with boxes in front of me. I think it's safe to enter." Jack said. "Ok. Uh, but how?" Heero asked. "With this handy blowtorch of course." Jack said, and pulled a blowtorch from his back pocket and crouched down. He began welding a circle in the glass, and after cutting all the way around, he had to find some way to not alert anyone when they entered the building. "Heero, we can't let anyone know we're here. How do we get the glass off quietly?" Jack asked. "Like this." Heero commented, and got right in front of the glass and pushed it in at the top, and as soon as it fell at an angle inward, he grabbed it, and flipped it horizontally. He then pulled it out and set it gently on the ground. "Nice. Where did you learn that?" Jack asked. "I didn't. I just figured it out as I went along." Heero said with a crooked grin. He then ducked down, and climbed in slowly. He then stuck an arm out and waved them inside. Jack went in second. He marveled at the large room and peeked through the cracks in the boxes, to see scientists talking amongst themselves, and plotting something; anything. Jack stuck his head out of the hole to see Melfina. "Come on. Be quiet." Jack warned her. She nodded, and crept in slowly. "Did anyone tell you that you are very flexible?" Jack asked. "No, but I expected it to come from you sometime or later." Melfina said smiling. "I thought so." Jack said smiling. Heero peeked around the corner, and flipped the visor back in its original position. "Listen." Heero said. Jack tuned in closely to see what was so important. "The project is very unstable, I tell him. He does not listen." "Ha. It is obvious he would not. He seems to be here only to serve himself." "I wish we could have shut it down before he locked us in here." "Yes, but if we had we surely would be asked to rebuild it and then be executed." "But it would be for a good cause." "Do you think the guards are listening right now?" "I would hope not. They are the most peculiar people I know." "Yes. They cannot laugh to a good joke or start conversation. They are silent always." "That is the way guards seems to be." "Not now. We must find a means of escape." "But how? These walls must be 2 inches thick!" "Maybe we should expect someone to come from the door and save us." "Wishful thinking. All we can do is sit and wait." "I propose the same idea." With the conversation ended, they all sat at a group of chairs and waited. They talked some more, but mostly just senseless chatter. "You hear that?" Heero asked leaning back into the group of three. "Sounds like they don't want to be here as much as I do." Jack said. "Maybe if we help them, they can tell use anything we need to know." Melfina said. Jack looked at her, and so did Heero. "It's just a suggestion." She said nervously. "And a damn good one." Jack said. "I say we jump out and tell them why we are here. They might not try anything, seeing as how they are prisoners in their own prison." Jack said. "Agreed." Heero confirmed. "One, two, three!" The three of them all jumped out, guns drawn and pointed directly at the scientists. "Wha-what is going on here. I demand an explanation." The scientist rose to his feet and stood firmly. "And so do we. Listen, we aren't here to cause trouble." Jack stated. "Ahem." Heero said with a little wave of his shoulders. "Well maybe a little, but we don't have any quarrel with you. In fact, we think you can help us." Jack stated. The scientists all looked at each other and whispered between them. "Now here's a thought. I'm going to put my gun away, and have it locked in this holster. Now, I'm going to trust you, so don't think I'm not fair." Jack said. He slipped his gun from his hand into the holster on his waist and dropped his hands. One scientist approached and stood directly in front of Jack. "You are a brave young man. Tell me, why are you here?" The scientist stood firmly and fearless. "I have little knowledge of this. Ask him." Jack said, pointing directly at Heero. Heero put his gun back and adjusted his standing. "We are here to investigate the destruction of several ships and stolen technology. The starbase also raises great suspicion." Heero elaborated. "Yes, yes. We can tell you exactly what is going on, but not here. They could be listening to what we are saying. You must get us out of here. Back the way you came!" One of them said. "We cant. The way we came is no longer accessible back down." Melfina said. "We will have to find a way out then." The other said. "But how?" Jack asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Look!" Heero said. He pointed to an air duct that sat on the far right side of the room. "In there?" Melfina asked. "It's the only way." Heero said. They took off the bars, and began to file inside. The insides were dank, dark, and very cold. "I'm getting chills." Melfina said. "It's an air duct. Hence the name, air." Jack explained. "Hey," Heero whispered from the front "we are getting to another room." Heero went prone and took out his binoculars. "What do you see?" Jack asked. Heero scanned the room immersively. "Two guards. I'd say, M90 Submachineguns." Heero reported. "Not bad. But not good either." Jack said worriedly. "I think we should take them down." Heero said. "Good idea. Do you think you can hit them from this range?" Jack asked. "Too far. I'll have to storm the room." Heero said. "Be my guest." Jack laughed. With one firm kick, Heero blasted into the room with an Iron Fist and hammered one of the guards with a bullet to the head. The other guard panicked and hit the button for the door. It opened slowly, and he fired wildly at Heero. Heero took cover behind a bench and potted plant, securing his cover. "Jack. Get in here damnit!" Heero yelled. Jack crawled through the ducts quickly, with the science team and Melfina behind him. He hopped down and pulled the pistol quickly from its holster. "He left, but I have a feeling he went to alert someone else." Heero said. "Grab his gun and get over here behind me." Jack rushed over and picked up the SMG, and dashed behind Heero. "Melfina, get them in a safe spot. You, with the mustache, get over here." Jack instructed. The scientist hustled over and crouched down. "Do you know how to use this?" he asked, handing him the SMB. "Are you kidding. I was born in Russia. We fight all the time in my country." He said, strapping it over his shoulder and holding it firmly. "You're from Earth?" Jack asked. "Of course." He stated. "Say, what's your name?" Jack asked. "Sergei." He said, and focused primarily on the door. "Come on, I think I head them in here." Jack heard. "Back against the wall." Heero instructed. They were all hidden, and the guards entered unsuspectingly. "Well I was sure they were here." He said. "What happened to Johnson?" on of them asked, and stooped next to the dead guard on the floor. Heero held up three of his fingers. He counted them down one at a time, until there were none left, and they all sprang out and began opening fire. Some of them went down, and the other three retreated back behind the door. "Alert the captain. We have intruders!" he shouted. One of them broke away from the crowd of attackers and ran down the hallway to meet his captain. Heero jumped out and shot one of the others, and when the other turned the corner he shot him too. "It's too late. All we have to do is get out of here and we're safe. We can't sneak out." Heero said, standing erect. "Well we better get out fast because I don't think it will be long before the guards are all over us." Jack said, and waved his hand for Melfina to come out with scientists. "Listen, Sergei, you are our main fire support. We need you for any stiff-ass resistance we come across." Jack said. "You fight well for a little one." Sergei complimented. "Thanks." Jack said, and they bolted out the door with the science team at their heels. "This way." Heero said, and they shuffled behind him as he ran down the hall. They came across a large hallway, which broke off into smaller ones. "Come on." Heero said, and they took a right down the smaller section of the halls. "Where are we now?" Jack asked. "We have to find an elevator. That's all I'm looking for." Heero explained, and they dashed down the hall and stopped at a dead end. "Damn. We have to find another way." Heero sighed, and they turned and ran to the entrance to the large hallway. "Ok then, we'll go that way." Heero pointed. Before they could even move, the sound of the intercom blared a horrid announcement. "Attention! Attention! Intruders located in research area. Special Forces have been deployed. All unidentified personnel will be shot on sight." "Oh no! They have sounded the alarm. Quickly, we must hide!" One of the scientists' said. "We need an elevator!" Heero yelled. "There!" Melfina exclaimed. Down the hall was an elevator that had just landed on the same floor. "Come on!" Heero said. They were about to run for it, but a horde of Soldiers just had just marched down the hall from the same direction they were going. "Hold your ground!" Heero said. Across from them was another hall that had the same kind of layout. "Melfina! Get the science team over there!" Heero instructed. She dashed across and backed against the wall quickly. Special Forces had them pinned down and were continuously firing. "How do we get to the elevator?" Jack asked. "How the hell would I know? The only way would be to take down all these damn guards. But they got us outnumbered and outgunned! We are stuck." Heero shouted. Then, all gunfire stopped. Everything went quiet. Heero and Jack looked at each other, and then back around the corner. "Steven's, take a small detachment." One of them yelled. Jack poked his head around the corner to see four soldiers break away from the squad and began to slowly come down the hallway. "This is our chance. Take em all down." Jack whispered. Sergei stood in position with the M90, and Melfina, Heero and Jack all stood quietly, waiting to strike.
As soon as they were in range, they all jumped out and gunned them down. The other half of the squad opened fire again, and Heero leaped out and nabbed an M90 from one of the dead soldiers, and then he backed against the wall and into another small hallway. "Jack, make a run for the elevator! I'll hold them off!" Heero yelled from down the hall. "Got it! Ok Melfina listen up, I'm gonna make a run for it, so wait here until Heero says otherwise." Jack said. Melfina stood thinking for a moment, and then had a look of horror on her face as she remembered something the pirates had said to her while Jack was in stasis. "Wait Jack! Don't do it!" Melfina screamed. He didn't hear here, and turned the corner and ran, but Melfina leaped and tackled him back into the hallway. "What's the idea Mel? I'm coming back for you." Jack said. "Remember that bit of information I never told you?" Melfina asked. "Yeah. But look, this is a really bad time." Jack explained. "Well they told me that they would kill you later. They set this thing up to happen. If you would have run out there they said that you would be killed. I didn't know what they meant at first, but if you go, then you will die." Melfina said quickly. "Wow. So, that is what this is all about. Well, I guess we'll have to find another way. Oh, and where did you learn to pounce and tackle like that?" Jack asked. "You don't want to know." Melfina said, and she stood up with Jack. "Heero, we need to find another way." Jack yelled. "How?" he asked while turning the corner and firing a chain of bullets, and then jumping back and waiting to fire again. Jack searched frantically for items to use. "Melfina! Grab that fuel drum." He asked. A stack of fuel drums sat in the corner next to a pile of boxes. Melfina walked over and pushed it on its side, and then rolled it towards Jack. "Ok, tell Heero to get out of the way. I need to prep this thing." Jack said. "Heero! Listen! Get as far away from the hall as you can!" Melfina yelled. Jack heard a clamber of footsteps, and pushed the barrel in the hallway. "Heero! Heads up!" Jack yelled. Jack kicked the barrel down the hallway with as much force as he could exhilarate. Heero saw what he was doing, and fired at the canister with his weapon, therefore making explode into a fireball. He ducked against the back of the hallway, and waited as the fire spread out into an inferno throughout the halls of troops. The enemy withdrew into the back way, and waited. "Come on!" Jack yelled. They all dashed into the smoke and fire and crammed themselves into the elevator. "Run Heero!" Jack commanded. He jumped out and dashed for the elevator, leaping inside as it closed and then descended. "I don't think they had any idea what hit them." Jack said laughing and coughing at the same time. "Very clever. Where did you learn such things?" one of the scientists asked. "Broken Arrow." Jack said smiling. "I do not understand." One of them commented. "Nevermind. Heero, how do you presume we get out. They probably have this placed locked down and crawling with Special Forces." Jack asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Let me talk to Jim." Heero insisted, holding out his hand. Jack unclipped his radio, and gave it to Heero. "Jim, are you still there?" Heero asked. "This is Jim. What's going on. I heard some shooting. Is everything alright?" Jim asked. "Well, unfortunately we got ourselves into a bit of a mess. Can you somehow get a layout of this place and load it into one of our visors?" Heero asked. "I don't know. The place has such heavy coding that I don't know if I could." Jim explained. "The base is under lockdown. I'm sure they left all security files under an encryption, and everything that is not important vulnerable. Try it now." Heero commanded. "Very well." Jim said, and he began to hack the files from the computer network. "He's right. Everything, electric consumption, miscellaneous research, building diagnostics, everything! It is all under absolutely no surveillance." Jim said, leaning back and downloading the files. "Alright. I'm going to open a communication channel. If we speak, they can hear us. Don't say a word." Heero said. He flipped his visor down and waited as numbers and symbols filed themselves in order quickly. "Got it." Heero said. "Check this out Jack." Jack moved closer and took out the expansion cord. He hooked it to Heero's visor and looked at all the information Jim provided. "Nice work Jim. Check this out. They have ground levels thirty to thirty-five under total lockdown. Only the ground floor and one through fifteen are under normal security." Jack observed. "This means that." "It means what?" Melfina asked in a peculiar way. "It means they think we haven't gotten any lower then level twenty. The next elevator on level twenty is down the hall on the left. This is the security checkpoint area. Security should be tight." Jack flipped his visor back up and Heero did the same. "Now listen, I think that..." Jack was cut short by the elevator stopping suddenly. "What was that?" one of the scientist asked. "I think they are going to try and get us by cutting off the elevator." Heero explained. He looked up, and noticed a ceiling vent. He pushed himself up on the railing, and knocked it loose. "Everybody up." He demanded. Melfina went first, the science team second, and Jack last. Heero followed, and he put the vent back in its place. "I think we'll have to crawl down." Heero suggested. "Well, lets see where this goes exactly." Jack said, and watched the elevator intently. Soon, it began moving back down, and stopped on level twenty-one. "What do you think is going on?" Melfina asked. "Sh. Listen." Heero said. "Open the door and surrender. We said open the door!" the sound came from a Special Forces Marine. "I bet they think we're in the elevator." Jack said laughing. Soon, several gunshots let out. The elevator soon had several holes being blown into it, and gunfire rang through the shaft. The elevator couldn't take much more of a pounding. Soon, everything went dead. The only noise they heard were the sounds of each other breathing heavily. "Plant it." Jack heard faintly. Soon, an idea popped into his head, and he looked frightened. "Oh shit, go up!" Jack said. They began climbing as fast as they could go, but it want very fast since a group of eight were doing it at the same time. "What exactly is going on?" Heero asked panting. "They're gonna blow it! They think we're inside, and if we somehow managed to survive, then they might as well blow the damn thing!" Jack explained. Their conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of a large explosion, and several metal pieces flew into the air to meet them. One his Jack's back, and the other hit Heero in his waist. The others were tiny bits that just bounced off everyone else. "What the hell was that?" Heero asked, now dangling from one arm. "It's called a bomb. You know, boom?" Jack said with a bit of aggravation. "Well, I guess somebody on the other end doesn't like us too much." Heero gasped, then grabbing the cord with both of his hands. "Let's slide down. I think we can get to level one if the climb the rest of the way." Jack explained. "Very well." Heero agreed. They began a slow ascent downward, and when they passed the door that had been blown to ashes, they looked through it, only to see several hallways and rooms. All personnel had left the area. They kept going, and soon had reached the very bottom of the shaft. "I think we should be at level five." Jack said, helping the others down. "Well, I guess you could say we are home free." Heero said quickly. "I don't know. I think security is nominal now, and that everyone is back to their original positions." Jack explained. "Well, why can we not just blast through?" Sergei insisted. "Too risky. Let's see what's outside before we get too involved with out surroundings." Heero picked up a piece of metal, and bent it in the fashion of a crowbar. He then clipped it into the door, and forced it open. "What can you see?" Melfina asked. "I see nothing. No guards, no scientists, no nothing! But there is a dark room down the hall, and a lot of stairs" Heero observed. "Ok then. Get that door open and we can get the hell out of here." Jack said. "Hold on. I think we should still be a little stealthy at least." Heero insisted. "Very well." Jack agreed, and slipped the gun in his holster and never looked at it from that point on. Heero opened the door enough for them to slip out unnoticed, and then they moved into the dark room with quiet footsteps and light breathing. When they reached the door, Heero slid it open and held out his weapon to see if anything was inside. When he spotted nothing, the rest of them moved in, and began discussing their next move. "So far I think we have been lucky." Jack said, sitting in a rolling chair. "I don't think that." Heero said. "So far it's been pure genius that we've gotten this far." Jack rolled across the room and positioned himself at another desk. "How about this. I take a look around and see what is out there?" Melfina suggested, adjusting herself upright. "You think that's a good idea?" Heero asked. "I think it's just fine." Jack said. Melfina nodded and smiled. "Very well. We got your back just in case anything comes your way." Heero reassured her. She stepped out into the small hallway, the lights shinning plainly against her black outfit. She walked to the corner of the hall, and Jack had his pistol drawn and ready for anything to happen. She peeked around the small, attaching halls, to another large one, only this one had more activity. Guards patrolled between smaller halls, and clearly blocked them off from the other side. Melfina walked back to the small room, and leaned on the doorway frame. "So, how is it?" Jack asked. "Well, there are several guards. I think if we tried going through them, we could sound the alarm again." Melfina said worriedly. They all sat there, wondering how they could cut across to the other side. "Hey Mel, is the ceiling dark? Is it really shaded up there?" Jack asked. Melfina took a moment to think. "Yes. It has a small rafter up there and I couldn't see anything." Melfina commented. "Good, good. Hey, you guys, do you think that anyone on this level knows that you have escaped or anything?" Jack asked. "No. I would think not." Sergei concluded. "Melfina, how is your grip?" Jack asked. "My grip? Well I think I can hold on to anything just fine." Melfina said curiously. "Good. Guys, I think that we can solve this problem, simply by climbing on the pipes up in the rafters." Jack explained. "What are you proposing exactly?" Heero asked. "Well, the science team can easily just walk past the guards, and they would look like normal employees. We can hold on to the pipes up in the rafters and crawl across the room, over the guards." Jack said. "Not a bad idea." Melfina commented. "Good, then it's settled. Scientists, when you begin walking, guards will likely stop you on the way. That is when we will boost ourselves onto the pipes and begin moving." Jack said, giving hand motions to show off as an example. After talking it over, the plan was executed. The three of them waited around the corner, as the scientist walked down the hall slowly but yet a fast pace. Soon, as Jack had suspected, two guards stopped them. Heero ran out immediately, crouching down and putting his hand out. Jack ran out and upped himself into the rafters and clung to the pipe. The put his legs around it and began to crawl through the rafters unsuspectingly. The guards continued to question them as Melfina was soon lifted up and did the same as Jack. Heero jumped and made a jump off of the wall, and grabbed the pipes and wrapped his own legs around them. They were all firmly attached to the freezing pipes. They were used to circulate air throughout the complex. Obviously a low budget addition. Melfina clung desperately to the pipes, since this was her first mission. She had no real combat experience. This made it seem futile for her existence, but her commitment and determination showed through. They crawled slowly, sweat dripping from their foreheads, also nervous about the guards right below just might look up. They had to be quiet to get this done correctly. Things seemed to take forever on the ceiling. The scientists were already across the hall, and were just around the corner. The three infiltrees were only three-quarters of the way there. Heero head was wet with sweat, and one drop fell and landed on the floor. A guard stopped dead, and looked at it. He peered down closely. Heero and the others stood perfectly still. If they didn't move, they would blend in with their surroundings. He looked up at the ceiling. All he saw was black, but was mysteriously intrigued at what came down from the roof. He ignored it, and continued on his rounds. Heero sighed, and they moved on. They reached the end of the hallway, and slowly, but quietly, jumped down and ducked behind the corner. When they were all accounted for, they made a dash for the adjacent hallway, and scampered down the stairs. They were in the lobby area now, and peeked around the corner to see what other defenses awaited them. Nothing was there. There were no cameras, no guards, no scientists, no nothing! They had expected a welcoming party waiting for them, but instead got a clear cut across the lobby floor. One of the scientists was about to turn the corner and run, but Heero grabbed his arm and turned him around to face him. "Don't even move." Heero said. He peeked back around the corner, and flipped his visor down. He could see heat signatures all over the lobby, in laser form. "They have infrared beams." Heero told Jack with a sigh. "I knew it looked to easy." Jack said. "How do we get across?" Jack added. "Well, let me figure that out." Heero said. He took the binoculars they had been sharing, and lifted them up. "I see a panel on the other side. It must be the switch for the lasers." Heero said. "What was your first clue?" Jack sarcastically noted. "Listen, one of us will need to cross that floor and deactivate the lasers." Heero explained. "Now which one of us will go is the question." Jack looked around, and the science team all sighed. "I will." Melfina perked up. "You will? Are you sure you can make it?" Jack asked. "Listen, for once Jack, would you stop being so protective of me. I can handle myself as well as you can. Trust me." Melfina begged him. "I trust you." Jack said. He grabbed her hand, and cupped them in his own. "Get those lasers offline." Jack told her. "I will." She responded. She got up, and stood ready to maneuver across the floor. "Here." Heero said. He took the goggles off of his head, and handed them to her. "If you need to see what to do, you these. Just watch the lasers." Heero explained. "I've got it under control." She said winking. She flipped the visor into IR Mode, and slowly walked until she was in front of the first beam. The others could see nothing, but she could see every strand that stood between them and freedom. She ducked under the first laser, and then brought a leg over the next one. She moved herself, still ducking down, across the second and third beam. She laid flat on her back, and crawled under two more. She bent her body backwards, making her move on her hands and legs. She stepped over the next, while staying under all beams above. Jack clenched his teeth, and wished that she were already on the other side. Just then, the visor turned fuzzy and went black. Melfina couldn't see at all! "Uh guys, I think something happened." She shouted. "Oh damn." Jack said. He grabbed the radio and called Jim up. "Jim! We are in deep shit. We need you to pull us out." Jack said quickly. "What's the matter?" Jim asked. "It's Melfina. The goggles went out just as she was crossing a pool of motion detection lasers." Jack explained. "Jesus." Jim said, slapping himself in the face. Jim hesitated for a moment, and tried to think of something to do. "Ok. I'll try to establish a direct uplink to the visor. I don't know if this will work but I'm sure that it will." Jim said. He rolled his chair across the room and sat at a different computer this time. He kept typing and typing, trying desperately to find a way to fix a serious problem. "Hurry Jim." Jack said. He was bringing up windows and closing them. Numbers were flashing across the screen, and he kept going until he just about snapped under the intense mental pressure. Jack, Heero, and the scientist waited patiently, tapping their feet and twiddling their thumbs. Heero heard footsteps in the hallway, and hugged the wall until he reached the edge. A guard was coming down looking for anything he could find. Heero made a hand motion to Sergei to walk over to him. He scurried over, and Heero whispered in his ear. "Listen, try and get that guy to leave." Heero asked. He pointed around the corner, and Sergei nodded. "Good evening. Might I ask why you are following routines here?" Sergei asked, coming out from hiding and trying to cover who he was really working for. "Orders from the captain." The guard said stopping. "And what assumption might the captain have that anything is down here?" Sergei questioned. "Listen, just let me complete my rounds and I can go on elsewhere." The guard said, shoving Sergei out of the way. Heero popped around the corner, and shot the guard in the head directly. He wobbled, and toppled down the stairs, making several thud sounds. "Get his gun!" Heero ordered. Sergei picked it up and tossed it to Heero. "Cmon. We have to hide the body." Heero recommended. They dragged it and pulled it around the corner. Jack turned around to see what had happened. "What the hell did you guys do?" Jack asked with questionable reasoning. "I think they are looking for us." Heero explained with a simple phrase. "Markis, is everything alright down there?" Jack heard. "See." Heero said shrugging. Jack wasted no time. He grabbed the M90 Heero held in his hands and shot the guard until he too hit the floor and fell a few steps. "Ok, now I think we are in trouble." Heero said. A team of two came looking for their missing comrades, and instead found Jack standing over their dead friend. "Sound the alarm!" one of them yelled. Jack managed to shoot one, but the other escaped up the stairs in an effort to warn the others. "Guys, what's going on?" Melfina asked at the sound of gunshots ringing in her ears and some mildly aggressive conversation also catching on. "Uh, well, we seem to be in a bit of problem." Jack replied. He backed against the wall, and it wasn't long before more guards appeared, slowly descending down the stairs. "Heero, grab the damn gun!" Jack yelled. Heero rolled and grabbed the weapon, then backing against the other end of the doorway. The guards tried desperately to hit him, but missed. Both Jack and Heero returned fire, and managed to bring a few more down. When a gun hit the floor, they picked it up and tossed it to a scientist. He then joined in the fight, shooting and ducking all at once. Heero turned the corner again to fire, but one of the guards took deadly aim. He shot, and hit Heero in the leg. Heero toppled over, right in the doorway, vulnerable to anything that was coming. Jack grabbed him and pulled him out of the way quickly. While doing this, Jack was also exposed, and they shot and hit him in the shoulder. As soon as Heero was in the safety zone, Jack grabbed his right shoulder, which now left a large red spot on the dark cloth. "Come on Jim." Jack yelled over the comm. "Almost got it." Jim said with a rushed depth to his voice. After confirming the code, and getting an uplink, the visor became visual again. "I can see!" Melfina proclaimed. She did more maneuvering and ducking. She rolled under a few more, and jumped in-between the last few. She had reached the other side, and she rushed over to the panel and quickly deactivated the lasers by using the code that appeared automatically on her visor when she looked at the controls. "Jack, Heero! Hurry up!" Melfina yelled. All she heard were gunshots. "Jack? Guys?" Melfina yelled. There was no voice response. The scientist ran out, and Jack had Heero hunched on his shoulder. Heero's arm was around him, and he was barely able to walk by himself. Melfina rushed over, and helped hoist Heero over her shoulders. They were halfway out, when the guards came rushing back around to finish the job. Jack let go of Heero, and angrily pulled the trigger of the weapon, killing a few guards, while the others got back behind their cover. Jack continued to shoot, until he heard a click in his cartridge. He dropped the weapon, and ran for the doorway, Melfina already ahead of him. They were exiting through the glass doors, and scampering out into the streets. Jack got outside as the doors closed, and looked around for a place to hide. "Hey! Heero! Guys! Over here!" Quatre yelled, while waving his arms in the air to grab their attention. Heero smirked, and Jack was overjoyed that they had come to get them. The science team was loaded on first, and Heero second, and then Melfina and Jack. "I see you picked up a few freeloaders." Duo commented. "They're with us." Jack said. "Now drive!" The van took off at a high speed, away from the building. "I can't tell you guys what perfect timing that was." Jack said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well actually, we were waiting for you guys the whole time. We expected a bad exit, so we were sent to get you out if anything happened." Trowa responded while driving. Heero was holding his leg, and groaning at the pain. "Geeze Heero. You've been hit with a bullet in the leg before. Why is it so bad now?" Duo said, turning in his seat. "I don't think you understand Duo when it comes to three or four bullets, bigger then my finger, being pumped into you. That last one you gave him was a pistol bullet." Jack explained. "Hey how did you know." Duo said, his voice trailing off. "Don't ask." Jack explained. About halfway through the trip back, Melfina rested her arm on Jack's shoulder, only to feel it was a bit wet. She turned on the light in the van, and saw Jack was bleeding near his shoulder. She gasped loudly, and began to hesitate. "Oh my god. Jack, are, are you alright? Is it bad?" she asked several times. "I'm.fine." Jack lied. It hurt badly, but he didn't want to sound like the only wimp there, so he swallowed the pain and hoped for the best. "Are you sure that." Melfina asked. "Yes Mel. I'm sure. It's not as bad as it looks. Trust me." Jack said. She wouldn't be fooled so easily by his dodgey remarks. "I'm going to look at it when we get back anyway." Melfina said with assertiveness. "Fine, fine." Jack said, clenching his teeth at the pain. He felt dizzy at first, kind of off and on, but it went away after a while. "Mel." Jack said. He felt everything spin and he nearly toppled over. "Yeah Bran - oh my god. You don't look very good." Melfina said. "No, really. I'm fine." Jack gasped, and he felt the car seat hit him in the face, and he fell asleep.