Disclaimer: I don't own either Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon. Sorry if you were hoping to buy either from me. Lol.
Editors: Did I scare you guys? Lol. I should have. ^_~ Thanks, as always, for your input, Usagi Asia Maxwell, Autumn Hime, Lady Artemis, and DevilsDarling.
Warnings: Compared to my existing fics, this is dark and a bit … I don't know … angst-y? ::shrugs:: I just know that it contains quite a bit of conflict and detailed mentioning of firearms. Not humorous (?) like the last chapter. At all. Next chapter will be darker though. Lol.
Happy holidays everybody and don't forget to review! Please? ^_____~
As the Safety Clicked Off…
There was a fine line between duty and pleasure, and he had cause to believe he had just crossed it. The tug-o-war between the conflicting sides was painful and difficult, but at that exact moment, pleasure allowed a burst of energy and tugged until the flag reached over the line. Not enough to win the war, mind you, but definitely a turn of events to be regarded with distrust.
He was having more fun than he should on this mission, and once he got back to headquarters, he was sure certain people would have a few things to say about THAT.
His duty as a FBI agent was to take the battle with one Tsukino Usagi to the next level and rid the common people's minds of the need to worry about thievery from at least one person. The job was easy enough, something that his superiors had reason to count as a solo mission, but also difficult enough for all lower levels of law enforcement to fail and for HE himself to be the person it was assigned to.
But she didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know that he was part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And she most definitely didn't need to know she was dragging him down under dark waters in unfamiliar territory, emotion-wise.
Even he didn't need to know that.
…………………
Summer had refused to relinquish its hold upon the earth without one last dazzling display of colors. Burnt orange, fiery red, and soft yellow fell around her as she strolled along the park, perhaps the only place that could come close to a sanctuary in as hectic a city as Calais. After you ignored the careless litter, of course.
She eyed the children playing hopscotch on the already cold ground but looked away when one of their parents quirked a smile towards her. What had this world come to? And since when had it shifted from the simple black and white her idealistic mind had imagined when she had went into her occupation?
Hiiro had good reason to let her go off alone – she would have fairly ripped his head off if he had insisted on coming. And it wasn't as if Artemis was in the vicinity with her passport and a private jet ready. Usagi sighed and looked upwards at fluffy clouds.
There was no turning back. Her footsteps had long since been cast in stone, and the future was shrouded in a hazy fog. She was utterly completely lost, having forgotten to drop breadcrumbs that would lead her back to the comfort of her previous life. She was grasping for something … but what? Fame? Reasonable enough had she not known she was not that kind of person. Love? We all saw how well she succeeded at THAT. The truth? Truth was subjective in her world.
The garden path underneath her feet split into a fork, and she stared numbly at the dull pavement. How ironic. How utterly ironic. Must everything in life remind her of her own predicament? The road of her life spread in front of her, both options ending in dark shadow.
She sighed and pondered the road not taken.
…………………
The door clicked open shortly after she slid her card-key into the slot. She stepped in nearly inaudibly and left her shoes neatly by the doormat. Moonlight stained the thick carpet through filmy curtains, and all was silent save the gentle tick-ticking of the clock.
The shadows shifted, and she jumped. The light flipped on to reveal Hiiro leaning against the wall. She couldn't tell whether or not he was alert – his posture remained innocuous, but she had many a reason to question the appearance of things.
"H-Hiiro."
Dark eyes snapped open, and he stood, shooting her a cold look. She froze, eyes wide, and regarded him carefully. Something had definitely happened, and it wasn't particularly good either.
"You're under house arrest until further notice," he spat out, tone unrelenting. Her heart rose to her throat and thumped in her head like a frightened rabbit's. Anger and disbelief fueled its quick tempo.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Eyes flickering angrily, she marched up to his stiff figure and glared. Jabbing an accusing finger in front of his face, she quietly argued, "You have no right to-"
He snatched her hand away from his face, fist clenching around her wrist. "I think you have forgotten the current state of matters." Her entire body froze as she stared at him, nothing but his words and the dull thump of her heart in her ears reaching her mind.
"All right then." She refused to tremble and whimper in his presence. The hand around her wrist was threateningly close to snapping it, but she pretended as if the thought never occurred to her. As if a broken wrist meant nothing to her. As if a shattering of the heart never came to pass.
"Your room is that way."
His statement flew by without an answer. "But tell me about this delay. Why are they not sending a flight over until perhaps months later?"
"None of your business."
Brushing past a bristling blonde, he grabbed a large paper bag from against the wall and walked into her room. Despite herself, she was curious and upon entering the room after him, her eyes caught sight of a small stack of wooden boards. Loud hammering echoed in the room as Hiiro adjusted the nail and aimed, sealing the window.
"Isn't this vandalism?"
The abrupt answer was, "It's not out of my pocket."
"Don't you trust me?"
"No."
With one last bang, the last nail dug into the wood, and he turned around. "There is an alarm system even if you break through this," he warned frostily before exiting.
"Scared?" she mocked, a familiar smirk forming over her face.
Arctic eyes turned to her as he pursed his lips. "No."
The door closed and in the silence, the click of the lock sounded awfully like the release of the safety.
She felt the metaphorical firearm, cold, against her temple.
…………………
The moon looked caged outside her window, and she sighed into the oppressing darkness, threatening to suffocate her. This wasn't her style. Sitting and waiting was not the style of any sane person hunted by the entire law enforcement organization.
Creeping up out of her bed, sliding silently out from under the covers, she crept up to the door and pressed her ear to it. All was quiet except the gentle whispering of her breath. She pulled a hairpin out of her hair and twisted it out of its proper shape. A rather crude lock-pick but it would have to do.
Sticking it into the aperture of the doorknob, she started twisting it around, getting a feel of the make of the lock. It wasn't a big surprise when, not half a minute later, the lock clicked open. After all, what use would hotels have with high security locks?
She paused again, breath now coming out in anxious gasps as she pressed her ear to the door. It made no sound as she opened it.
A scream was quashed in her throat.
A figure leaned against the wall but made no movement as she stepped out, adrenaline pumping through her veins. Hiiro's unmoving figure rested against the wall, his arms crossed of his chest and his eyes closed, expression indiscernible.
Probably asleep.
Breathing a thank you upwards, she sneaked over towards his room and repeated the lock-picking session, already familiar enough with the design for it to take next to no time. The door opened as silently as her own, and she slipped inside, eyes darting around the room. She felt under the pillow of the bed and smiled as her fingers connected with cold metal.
Sleek black glanced in the moonlight as she stared at it.
Perfect.
The Colt 0.45-calibre automatic, standard of U.S. law enforcement, felt heavy in her hands next to her own preferred S&W 3913/14, but it would get the job done easily.
Swiping the pillow off of the bed, her smile widened at the sight of a Glock 17. She tucked it into her clothing, hiding it on her person and attempted to get a better grip on the Colt.
After checking the magazine* to make sure it was loaded, she silently slipped back out the door. The hall was still deathly still, and Hiiro's figure remained peaceful and tranquil. A tidal wave of guilt pulsed over her, and she gulped quietly, trying to subdue it.
As it receded slightly, questions of morality were scattered on the shore. She had decided a long time ago that all that she would do from that point on would not be right but definitely something that needed to be done if she wanted to live … survival of the fittest, right?
As for emotions … she really didn't want to even think about them. Emotions, according to her, simply didn't figure into the equation. Not for this kind of a situation. Sure he was Duo's friend … so what? Sure he had been oddly nice to her the past few days … so what? Sure he deserved to live but …
So what?
…………………
Panic flooded her mouth with a bitter taste. Where was Usagi? Where the HELL was Usagi?!
The two guards constantly surrounding her had long since departed to get some rest at her own request, and Artemis had already disappeared with a sympathetic smile. But the silver-haired man was already used to this type of thing happening and showed nothing beyond professional sympathy. Usagi was his favorite and most talented but … his heart was encased in ice. He couldn't afford to feel compassion any longer. She understood that but…
Sighing, she leaned back in the expensive leather chair and rubbed her temples. The New York nightscape shone brightly behind her, lighting the dark office. Her computer provided the other light.
She had tried everything – emailing, checking all known tracks of the blonde but had come up with nothing. Nothing. Artemis had helped her, of course but … Usagi wasn't necessarily under his care any longer. She was under hers … and Lord did she make a mess of it all.
What could have happened to her? The only option remaining was … she didn't want to think of it.
Her last choice was simply to call the blonde via her cell phone, but by now, if her hypothesis was correct, the phone would already be in the wrong hands and if not, would at least be tapped.
She didn't need that burden upon her shoulders especially with the current state of matters. But…
Resting her head on her folded arms, she sighed into the darkness. Who knew justice was so difficult to achieve? …why did the police believe that Usagi was necessarily criminal? Did they not get the general gist of her actions? Were they blind? Usagi was doing the world a favor in her stead. Usagi was right.
She had to be.
…………………
The weapon suddenly felt slippery in her hands as she nervously licked her lips. What was the hold-up? her mind screamed, but she ignored it. The fork in the road was becoming distinctly clear as her footsteps carried her closer and closer and closer…
She switched the pistol to the other hand and wiped the original with the leg of her pants before switching it back. Her footsteps halted as she breathed into the dense darkness, eyes very barely glimmering in what little moonlight was available. His form stood before her, so utterly defenseless and innocent that tears pricked her eyes.
It was not wise to press the gun against his temple or any of that melodramatic junk. He might wake up at the touch of the cold metal, and she would simply receive a quick death.
Gulping down another wave of tears, she sighed inaudibly and grinned sarcastically to herself. My first murder and already of an officer…
Her heart trembled in her chest, but she refused to quell under the wish to forget about the whole deal and leave the unarmed officer alone. The safety switched off with a dull click. Her hand was so close to his face that she could almost feel the heat emanating from him.
She took careful aim at his throat…
…and pulled the trigger.
…………………
Ah, so our little bunny is a bit violent, isn't she? I'm in a weird mood, stay faaaar, faaaaar away. ^_~ Thanks for sticking with this fic! Yours, Angel.
