Kazoku
by ReySolo and Tori Sakana

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Chapter 9 (In which time starts running out)
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The sun was getting low on the horizon, making it slightly harder for Heero to see as he drove the car in the directions he'd been given. Indeed, within fifteen minutes he had reached the building complex. After parking far enough away and hidden by trees so as not to be seen, he turned to Ven and Juuni. "Well, so far it appears I was given proper directions. I'm going to go check it out briefly, then I will be back so you two can get a decent amount of sleep before we proceed with the rescue."

Juuni looked giddy at the prospect of finally getting to the rescue, but Ven just looked worried. "You're going to go out there alone, and leave us here unprotected, this close to enemy territory? Wouldn't it be better for you to take us with you?" he questioned.

Heero shook his head, having already thought this through. "Three people sneaking around would be more noticeable, no matter how quiet you try to be. Plus, I do feel you two will be safer here for now, and I already realize that I will probably need to bring you two in when we go through with the actual rescue. I will not risk you more than necessary." When Ven hesitantly nodded, Heero had an idea. Popping the trunk and getting out of the car, he gestured for the other two to join him by the back. Curious, the kids watched in silence as he opened the trunk, then lifted the false floor that in most cars would contain a spare tire. In a former Gundam pilot's vehicle, however, this was not the case.

"Whoa!" Juuni exclaimed, as Ven just stared in awe at the dozens of guns, knives, and other weapons stashed in the small area.

"How long have you had all this?" Ven asked, not averting his gaze from all the weaponry.

Heero shrugged. "Had it from the war, kept it just in case."

"But what if you'd gotten a flat tire and couldn't fix it because you had all this stuff instead of a spare?" Juuni asked. The other two just looked at her incredulously. "What?"

They just shook their heads, then Ven met his tousan's eyes. "You'll let us use weapons."

Heero nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Your martial arts training is probably not going to be enough against multiple trained adults, and you're going to have to be armed when we go in later. However, you will not have lethal weapons."

Ven returned the serious look. "I understand." Juuni nodded as well.

Rummaging through the near-arsenal, Heero pulled out two small weapons. "A tranquilizer dart gun, and a taser."

"Oooh!" Juuni cried, grabbing the taser. "I want this one!"

Calmly taking the dart gun, Ven smirked at his sister. "Baka."

"Hey! Why'd you call me a baka, you baka?"

"Because my dart gun is way better than your taser!"

"Is not! Mine zaps people!"

Heero just ignored the exchange, selecting a few of the other weapons in the trunk to hide in his own clothing. Spare guns for him, plus some for Duo once they found him. He then ushered the kids back into the car, ordering them to keep the doors locked and to hide from sight until he returned.

Then, stealthily making his way toward the second building as instructed, Heero fell back into his perfect soldier mode, eyes flickering toward any movement, ears picking out any unnatural sounds, keeping hidden as much as possible. In his quick reconnaissance, he determined that there were two guards stationed outside at the front door, all the windows were covered, and one part of the building had apparently been converted to enable transport of large items—motor vehicles or larger—in and out. While none of this was proof that his son and partner were being held here, it was enough evidence to convince Heero, and his gut instinct agreed that this was the right place.

The sun had completely set by this time, and he headed back to the car. Knocking on the window in the secret pattern that Juuni had insisted upon before he left, Heero unlocked the door and sat in the car. Looking at Juuni's expectant expression and Ven's calmly curious one, Heero nodded. "Looks like this is the place."

Juuni began bouncing in her seat. "Can't we go rescue them now? Huh? Please? Can we?"

Heero looked seriously at her. "No, we're not going in until you two get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired," she complained, immediately followed by an attempt to hide a yawn belying her words.

Ven added, "What about you, Tousan? Aren't you gonna get any sleep?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm going to keep watch while you sleep. I don't want to leave you guys awake alone here for too long, and besides, I've completed missions on very little sleep multiple times. I'm also going to check in while you two sleep, request some backup, and possibly get a little more information on those buildings before we move in."

"What, you mean you need more backup than Juuni and me?" Ven asked, an impish grin on his face. At his tousan's skeptical raised eyebrow, he stated, "I know, I know, we're just kids. But I'm glad we can help at least a little." He smiled a genuine smile, then yawned. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought." He looked back at his sister. "Guess she was, too," he whispered.

Heero looked back to see his daughter flopped over in the back seat. Feeling the corner of his mouth lift up in a semblance of a smile, he reached back to straighten her out a bit so she wouldn't wake up with a neckache. He then took out his laptop, then looked back at his oldest son. Ven lay back in his seat, eyes half-closed, and smiled at his tousan. "Oyasumi nasai, Tousan."

"Oyasumi, Ven," Heero replied quietly. When Ven's eyes drifted shut, he turned to his laptop and began to work.

He was going to call for backup from the Preventors first, but as he thought about it he realized that might not be such a good idea. He could foresee two possible outcomes from requesting assistance from Une. One, she could refuse to help at all, saying one former Gundam pilot and a kid weren't vital enough to devote Preventors resources to; in that case, he would be no farther behind, but he was certain his response to that would not be good for maintaining a civil relationship with her. The other possibility would be that she would send help, probably in the form of young enthusiastic wet-behind-the-ears agents who would do more harm than good for a quiet, efficient rescue. Neither of those possibilities seemed acceptable to Heero. So he couldn't go to the Preventors. However, Heero could think of some other people he trusted.

He knew the other former Gundam pilots might still be on vacation. On the other hand, the inquiries he'd sent out earlier might have reached them, and he was reasonably certain that would have cut their holidays short. Besides, Wufei, Trowa, and Quatre were the only ones to whom he'd turn for this. Still, would they make it in time? Heero decided that he would simply send them messages informing them of his location and plans for the timing of the rescue, then go ahead with it tomorrow regardless of whether they had arrived or not. While this could potentially mean going in with merely Ven and Juuni for backup, he didn't want to wait around any longer than necessary when he still didn't know Duo's and Sifir's condition.

After that decision was made, Heero began searching various sources for information on the abandoned buildings in question. The only data he found on them was that they were owned by some corporation that went bankrupt during the war, and since they weren't very close to any major cities, no one wanted to buy up the real estate. Unfortunately, he could find no blueprints or anything that could be of any use in their rescue attempt.

However, in his search, Heero also received information that appeared irrelevant at first. Apparently the Preventors had been made aware of some new radical group that was suspected of having large stores of mobile suits and other weapons and preparing for an uprising against the government. He almost overlooked that report, but his gut instinct told him to look it over again. As he read the information more closely, he still found nothing specifically relevant, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this was related to Sifir's and Duo's kidnapping.

Somehow, that made him more confident in his decision not to inform the Preventors of his plans. If Une made the same connection Heero did, there was no way she would let him take care of this on his own, and that would also significantly decrease the chances of getting Duo and Sifir out alive. While Heero was well aware of the necessity of keeping the current united government stable, he was not willing to risk the lives of his partner and son to take out the base. This was going to be done his way.

After determining that he'd done gathering all the information on this place and the radical group there was to find, Heero decided to shut off his laptop for a while. Though he couldn't sleep while watching over the kids, it would do him no good to tire himself out more working all night. He reclined the driver's seat, turning his head so he could see both Ven in the passenger seat and Juuni in the back.

He allowed himself a small smile as he settled back to watch his two oldest sleep.

[1]

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"Sir, I think we can move the boy's training up to Stage 10."

"Stage 10? Already?"

"You've seen how well he did on those tests."

"Dr. White seems to believe he needs to go through the whole process."

"Doctor White has become too emotionally involved with the boy; her judgment is based on his fears, not his capabilities. Sir."

"So you believe he is capable of completing Stage 10 now."

"I do."

"Okay, do it."

"Sir?"

"Kill the father."

[2]

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TBC
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Footnotes:

[1] Sorry for the rather talky part; it was information and thinking that needed to happen at some point. We promise more action in the next part. In case you couldn't tell by the last line of the last section. :)

[2] Tori: WHAAAT?!?!?!
Rey: Oops.
Tori: You're gonna kill my lil Duo-chan? Hidoi~!
Rey: Sorry.
Tori: Grrr. *pulls out Gilgamesh*
Rey: *hides behind chair* NOOOO!
Tori: *shoots errant roommate/coauthor* So there.
Rey: That was uncalled for.
Tori: Serves you right.
*blows imaginary smoke away from barrel.*
Rey: *mutters* It was your idea…
Tori: Oh yeah…shut up.

Co-author rant: Buwahaha! Cliffhanger-ness! Now we're off to Hungary, see you in a month!

No, just kidding, we'll only be gone a week. But the more reviews we have waiting for us when we return, the faster we work! After spring break I might have time to work on that new sketch and stuff...but you'll just have to wait to find out what happens to poor lil Duo and Sifir!

And the first part of Nexus is out! Yaaay! (Dance of Joy) It took me freaking forever to write (about one entire semester, give or take a few weeks), but it's done! Parts will be coming out as I finish cleaning them up and fixing the logical errors that Rey so kindly pointed out. Nexus is my baby, so please go read and enjoy!

Happy Spring Break everybody! See you in a week or so!

Oh, and BTW, Gilgamesh is my water pistol. The gods themselves tremble at the mere sound of its name! BUWAHAHA!