Chapter 4

Silence met her statement.

-"You do realize that it is practically impossible to find a pilot as good as Heero Yuy, right?"

-"As much as I hated that kid, even I admit that he was the best, Une. Barton is right. There is no way we can find someone capable of sustaining the Zero system in time for him or her to be of any use."

Most of the others nodded.

-"Wufei, any ideas?"

The Chinese man met her questioning gaze.

-"Perhaps."

-"Well, let us hear it Wu-man. It's not as if anyone else knows what to do."

Wufei ignored him, his eyes still locked with Une's.

-"Do you still have the tapes?"

Much to everyone's surprise, her face turned slightly green.

-"You don't really expect me to watch that again, do you?"

-"Don't be stupid, ona. I know very well what would happen. No, it is just a hunch, but one that could help us."

-"I've already analyzed them, I assure you that."

-"Just give me the stupid tapes!!"

Sally tried to subtly kick her partner, but he easily sidestepped it and continued glaring at Une. Her boss was obviously not happy, although she couldn't understand why. What could possibly be in those tapes that would make her try to stop Wufei from taking them?

Unhappily, Une pointed towards several key rings hanging on the wall to her left.

-"The red ring. Viewing room 85. I will take this attitude of yours as a mission accepted for everyone else. Now, all of you are dismissed. You have one week to find a pilot, that's as much as we can give you. Now, get out!!!!"

They were quickly ushered out of the room and the door crashed against their backs.

-"Geez, Wu-man! Piss her off some more, would ya!?!?"

-"Hm, you should really shut up, Maxwell. Lets go."

He quickly moved down the corridor, with the others in tow.

-"Soo, what exactly is in those tapes?"

-"Trust me, Quatre. You don't want to know."

-"But I'm going to find out anyway, right? Since we are all helping you analyze them."

-"Only Maxwell will help me. The rest of you should look for other options."

-"But. . ."

-"Don't worry, Q-man! I'll tell you!"

-"No, you won't!"

-"Come on, Wu! They can't be that bad!"

-"Maxwell, you always ask the same question so, if by now you don't know the answer, I'm not going to tell you. You'll have to wait and see!"

That caused frowning to go around. What on earth was it with this people and keeping needed information from everyone around them? The expression on Wufei's face warned them not to pursue the issue, and so they quietly made their way towards their destination.

Une sat in her darkened office, thinking. Fools. All of them. None had realized that she had not told them whom they were going to fight against. She was playing her cards, just as Treize had taught her to. Now all she had to do was sit back, relax, and watch as they tore each other's throats.

She was so glad that Yuy was gone. He had been getting to close to the truth for comfort. One little call, though, had taken care of him.

She couldn't help but smiling. Such a simple action, and yet it had taken care of the only threat against her plans. The others had fallen for it, especially after her last performance. The tapes were useless, they would never find anything helpful in them.

She could see them through the security monitor located to her far right.

Seven little paws in a game of chess. A game in which she was Queen.

But she still needed an eighth. She needed Zero in the game if she was to win, and she knew very well that the others would find a new pilot, if given enough time.

She was going to have to find one first.

Damn this people, living their lives as if they were bad soap operas.

She had witnessed Une's meeting with the pilots, using every single trick she knew to keep herself hidden in the shadows. Not an easy feat if you considered the fire-red hair and the extremely pale skin. She couldn't help but smile when she thought about her code name. Lucia. The light.

Now, from her new hiding spot, she watched as a smirk crossed Une's face. That woman gave her the creeps. She was sure that Une was hiding something, and she wasn't really sure if she wanted to find out what.

One peek at her wrist pad told her that the rest of her team was in position. They would have to pull back soon, as it was almost sunrise. No shadows would mean no cover to escape undetected, and it wouldn't do to get captured this early in the game.

4:30. She had barely 30 minutes to leave some "clues" for the pilots and to get out.

Another look at her wrist told her that 03 and 04 had retreated right on schedule. That only left 02 to cover her back.

She quickly pulled her laptop out of her backpack. Time for a little magic.

She moved herself farther into the vent and began tipping, the soft glow of the screen making her emerald eyes ache. Damnit, she had spent too long in the dark! Thanking the gods that she was touch-trained, she continued tipping, while trying to adjust to the change of lightening. Most of the time it was great to have enhanced eyesight, but in cases like this it was a bitch!

Entering the last codes, she turned the computer off and made her way deeper into the vent system. Her exit point was on the roof, three floors up, 02 was already gone.

Two more floors.

-"01, we are all at the meeting point, over."

-"Good, 03. I'm on my way. Over and out."

She reached the roof in record time. A brief check revealed no followers. Stealthily, she made her way towards the northern edge and the cable she had left there earlier.

The sun was already coming up. It was time to hurry, she had to be out of there before the guard came up for their first patrol

A flick of her wrist sent the hook flying. She waited until she felt a soft tug on the other end and tied the cable to a nearby vent.

A deep breath and she was on her way to the next building. She really didn't want to fall the 56 stories to the ground. Not like it would kill her, but she had never been fond of pain.

Ten more meters and she was off. Pride enveloped her as she realized that the others had already taken care of the security measures. No one in sight, and yet she knew they were there. The best team. Always.

Gunpowder. Its smell wafted up to her, familiar and exhilarating. She often wondered if normal people enjoyed life as much as they did. Her enhanced senses had always been a blessing, she couldn't even remember what being "normal", without that thrill, was like.

And as the others joined her and they made their way to freedom, she didn't regret her past.

Duo sat on the bathroom's floor, his back against the wall, desperately hoping that his stomach was finally empty.

An image flashed through his mind, and he immediately bolted for the toilet.

Just as he was collapsing back against his wall, the door opened and Quatre peeked in.

-"Duo, are you all right?"

Glare.

-"Ok. Do you want to talk about it?"

-"Trust me Q, you should be grateful that Wu didn't let you watch."

-"That bad?"

-"Ten times worse."

They sat quietly for a few minutes, both lost in their thoughts.

-"Well, I better go back. We aren't even half through."

Quatre nodded mutely, not really paying attention. His space heart was telling him that something was desperately wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

He looked out the window, just in time to see something snake by. He blinked, surprised, and looked again. Nothing.

He moved towards the window and opened it, peering out. Everything was calm and in order, the sun was making its appearance and he could see the guards patrolling the building.

With that, he turned and exited the room, returning to their search.