Title:Exercising an Option
Author:Gina Lin Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Pairings: 5+S, 3+4, 1+2, 13+6 Warnings: Violence, AU, Language, Yaoi Rating: R Archived: FF.net, S_E Updates
Chapter 21
"Get behind me," ordered Wufei in a harsh whisper, hearing the soft brush of footsteps coming up the stairs. They were in the alcove in the hallway but it wouldn't conceal them for long.
Quatre stilled his breathing, and tried to focus on the immediate danger without panic. His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked around for something he might use to help defend himself and Wufei.
A small decorative table in the alcove held a tall copper vase full of dried flowers, and above that was some sort of wall decoration made of a pair of mounted deer antlers.
Feeling completely foolish, Quatre reached up and pulled the antlers off of the wall. He felt the tips with his fingers and they were indeed pointed enough to inflict damage. In his other hand was the heavy vase.
They waited for Estevez to come to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero grabbed Duo's arm and put a hand over his mouth, then pointed at the two figures in the darkness. Then pulled him down behind a large sofa in the lobby of the inn.
One of the intruders was tall and lanky, slightly stooped, and the other had by contrast a military posture in their camouflage gear. They were about to go up the staircase that led to Treize' apartment.
Heero focused on the target and slowly raised his revolver over the back of the sofa.
"I'd really hate to ruin your friend's pretty hair," said an accented voice behind him. "Drop that piece and turn around slowly."
Heero froze, and slowly dropped his revolver.
Duo, still on his knees, had his eyes closed and a gun pointed at his temple.
"How very cooperative of you," said Marron, as Une kept her gun pointed at Duo. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Heero said nothing but stared uncompromisingly at the other man.
"Not much of a talker, are you?" asked Marron. "I suggest you find your tongue or your friend will be in some pain."
"They're not security," said Une, "but I think the longhaired one is an employee."
Duo nodded, opening one eye to look up at Heero, then squeezed his eyes shut again.
"A friend who's staying here called me because the power was out," said Heero, finally.
"Ah, I see," said Marron. "How unfortunate for you. Do you always come armed to check on a friend?"
"Yeah," said Heero.
Marron lashed out suddenly and struck Heero across the cheek, snapping his head to one side. Heero blinked once, shook his head a few times to clear it, swallowed the blood in his mouth, then stared at Marron with an unwavering blue glare.
Marron raised his hand again.
"Don't!" yelled Duo, struggling to his feet. A hand on his shoulder forced him down on his knees again.
"Quiet!" said Une, grabbing his braid and pushing the revolver roughly into the side of his face. Duo winced.
"Bring them with us," ordered Marron, grabbing Heero by the elbow and putting his revolver against his the back of his neck.
Une pulled Duo to his feet by his hair and pushed her gun into the small of his back. She reached down and disarmed him with the other hand, tossing his pistol aside.
"Well deal with them when we rendezvous with the others."
Heero heard Wufei's battle yell resound in the darkness, a crash, then a hoarse scream. Marron's head jerked toward the sound. Heero dived for his revolver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you okay?" whispered Quatre to Wufei, who was wiping the blade of his katana off on the sleeve of the dead man's jacket.
"Yeah, thanks," said Wufei back. His hands were shaking in reaction. He took a deep breath to steady himself. His hands stilled.
Quatre dropped the makeshift weapon of the antlers, now bloodied. He still held the dented copper vase.
"I can't believe we just killed this guy," breathed Quatre in a shaky voice. His eyes were drawn to the glistening of blood in the almost non- existent light, and he fought to keep in control of himself. The rusty smell of blood assaulted his nostrils and he started to gag.
"He was going to kill us," replied Wufei under his breath. "Here," he said, handing Quatre the sleek revolver butt first that the man had been carrying. "This might work better than decorations."
"I think I'm gonna puke," moaned Quatre, but he took the gun and automatically checked the clip and the safety.
They rose and turned toward the stairs, hearing voices in the lobby. "Was that Heero?" whispered Quatre.
Wufei nodded. "I hope you're ready to use that thing," he whispered back, indicating the automatic pistol. He had the dead Latino's long knife in one hand, his katana in the other.
"I'll do what I have to do," sighed Quatre, barely audible.
They crept down the staircase, ducking down behind the railing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"They're coming," said Zechs, his ear pressed to the door.
"Not being very quiet about it, are they?" muttered Treize.
Relena came into the room holding a candle in a glass holder. "Mil, the power is."she began, then gasped, almost dropping the small flame.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. Zechs spun around. "Go back to the guest room and lock the door, Lena."
"What is it?" she hissed.
"Les Noire has found us," said Treize, ignoring Zechs attempts to quiet him.
"She's not a child, Mil. She needs to know what's happening."
"My God," exclaimed Relena again. "I've done this, haven't I? I led them here." She sat down heavily on a chair and put her face in her hands.
"There's no way of knowing that for sure," said Treize, coming over to her, bending and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now, we all need you to be strong, and not give in to your fears. We aren't going to go down without a fight, you can rest assured about that."
Relena reached up and clutched his hand. "I will," she said simply. "I'll be strong. Give me a revolver, I can shoot as well as any of you."
Trowa grinned faintly in the candlelight. "That's some sister you have there," he said to Zechs.
Zechs looked up. "If anything happens to her or Treize, there's no force on earth that can keep me from going after this scum until they're all choking on their own blood."
Trowa nodded solemnly. "I know how you feel." He exhaled heavily. "Please be all right, Quatre," he thought, hugging himself as a sudden chill seized him. He rubbed his bare arms.
"You all right?" asked Zechs, noticing the gesture.
"Yes," said Trowa. "I'm worried about my partner."
"You've been together for awhile?" asked Zechs, checking the clip on a shotgun.
"4 years," said Trowa.
"We're going to make sure it's a lot longer," said Treize in a commanding tone, coming over.
A thud resounded against the door.
"Company's here," said Zechs with grim humor.
"Invite them in, Mil," said Treize through his teeth.
Zechs pumped the shotgun once and blasted a hole through one of the doors. An exclamation and a loud curse where heard.
Relena cringed, but held onto her revolver.
Trowa took cover behind one of the leather sofas, beckoning Relena to join him.
Treize did likewise behind the other sofa. Zechs pumped another round into the chamber, and blasted another hole in the heavy doors again.
Trowa patted the young woman's arm reassuringly, and put his hand gently over hers that was gripping the gun.
"Breathe," he said quietly. "Relax, or you'll jerk the trigger."
She swallowed rapidly and nodded exhaling, consciously relaxing her death grip.
Suddenly the door was kicked open, and Trowa gasped as Heero and Duo were thrust through the doorway. Duo stumbled and fell to his knees, bleeding in several places from one arm. Heero staggered, but managed to stay uprig. Zechs grabbed Duo and pulled him up to his feet, and stood in front of him, shotgun poised. Heero quickly took cover behind a leather chair.
"Get down!" ordered Treize from his cover, and Zechs pushed Duo down behind an overturned table as gunshots rang out into the apartment from the doorway.
"Mil!" screamed Relena, and the light from the candle went out, plunging the room into darkness.
Author:Gina Lin Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Pairings: 5+S, 3+4, 1+2, 13+6 Warnings: Violence, AU, Language, Yaoi Rating: R Archived: FF.net, S_E Updates
Chapter 21
"Get behind me," ordered Wufei in a harsh whisper, hearing the soft brush of footsteps coming up the stairs. They were in the alcove in the hallway but it wouldn't conceal them for long.
Quatre stilled his breathing, and tried to focus on the immediate danger without panic. His heart was hammering in his chest as he looked around for something he might use to help defend himself and Wufei.
A small decorative table in the alcove held a tall copper vase full of dried flowers, and above that was some sort of wall decoration made of a pair of mounted deer antlers.
Feeling completely foolish, Quatre reached up and pulled the antlers off of the wall. He felt the tips with his fingers and they were indeed pointed enough to inflict damage. In his other hand was the heavy vase.
They waited for Estevez to come to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero grabbed Duo's arm and put a hand over his mouth, then pointed at the two figures in the darkness. Then pulled him down behind a large sofa in the lobby of the inn.
One of the intruders was tall and lanky, slightly stooped, and the other had by contrast a military posture in their camouflage gear. They were about to go up the staircase that led to Treize' apartment.
Heero focused on the target and slowly raised his revolver over the back of the sofa.
"I'd really hate to ruin your friend's pretty hair," said an accented voice behind him. "Drop that piece and turn around slowly."
Heero froze, and slowly dropped his revolver.
Duo, still on his knees, had his eyes closed and a gun pointed at his temple.
"How very cooperative of you," said Marron, as Une kept her gun pointed at Duo. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Heero said nothing but stared uncompromisingly at the other man.
"Not much of a talker, are you?" asked Marron. "I suggest you find your tongue or your friend will be in some pain."
"They're not security," said Une, "but I think the longhaired one is an employee."
Duo nodded, opening one eye to look up at Heero, then squeezed his eyes shut again.
"A friend who's staying here called me because the power was out," said Heero, finally.
"Ah, I see," said Marron. "How unfortunate for you. Do you always come armed to check on a friend?"
"Yeah," said Heero.
Marron lashed out suddenly and struck Heero across the cheek, snapping his head to one side. Heero blinked once, shook his head a few times to clear it, swallowed the blood in his mouth, then stared at Marron with an unwavering blue glare.
Marron raised his hand again.
"Don't!" yelled Duo, struggling to his feet. A hand on his shoulder forced him down on his knees again.
"Quiet!" said Une, grabbing his braid and pushing the revolver roughly into the side of his face. Duo winced.
"Bring them with us," ordered Marron, grabbing Heero by the elbow and putting his revolver against his the back of his neck.
Une pulled Duo to his feet by his hair and pushed her gun into the small of his back. She reached down and disarmed him with the other hand, tossing his pistol aside.
"Well deal with them when we rendezvous with the others."
Heero heard Wufei's battle yell resound in the darkness, a crash, then a hoarse scream. Marron's head jerked toward the sound. Heero dived for his revolver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you okay?" whispered Quatre to Wufei, who was wiping the blade of his katana off on the sleeve of the dead man's jacket.
"Yeah, thanks," said Wufei back. His hands were shaking in reaction. He took a deep breath to steady himself. His hands stilled.
Quatre dropped the makeshift weapon of the antlers, now bloodied. He still held the dented copper vase.
"I can't believe we just killed this guy," breathed Quatre in a shaky voice. His eyes were drawn to the glistening of blood in the almost non- existent light, and he fought to keep in control of himself. The rusty smell of blood assaulted his nostrils and he started to gag.
"He was going to kill us," replied Wufei under his breath. "Here," he said, handing Quatre the sleek revolver butt first that the man had been carrying. "This might work better than decorations."
"I think I'm gonna puke," moaned Quatre, but he took the gun and automatically checked the clip and the safety.
They rose and turned toward the stairs, hearing voices in the lobby. "Was that Heero?" whispered Quatre.
Wufei nodded. "I hope you're ready to use that thing," he whispered back, indicating the automatic pistol. He had the dead Latino's long knife in one hand, his katana in the other.
"I'll do what I have to do," sighed Quatre, barely audible.
They crept down the staircase, ducking down behind the railing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"They're coming," said Zechs, his ear pressed to the door.
"Not being very quiet about it, are they?" muttered Treize.
Relena came into the room holding a candle in a glass holder. "Mil, the power is."she began, then gasped, almost dropping the small flame.
"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. Zechs spun around. "Go back to the guest room and lock the door, Lena."
"What is it?" she hissed.
"Les Noire has found us," said Treize, ignoring Zechs attempts to quiet him.
"She's not a child, Mil. She needs to know what's happening."
"My God," exclaimed Relena again. "I've done this, haven't I? I led them here." She sat down heavily on a chair and put her face in her hands.
"There's no way of knowing that for sure," said Treize, coming over to her, bending and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Now, we all need you to be strong, and not give in to your fears. We aren't going to go down without a fight, you can rest assured about that."
Relena reached up and clutched his hand. "I will," she said simply. "I'll be strong. Give me a revolver, I can shoot as well as any of you."
Trowa grinned faintly in the candlelight. "That's some sister you have there," he said to Zechs.
Zechs looked up. "If anything happens to her or Treize, there's no force on earth that can keep me from going after this scum until they're all choking on their own blood."
Trowa nodded solemnly. "I know how you feel." He exhaled heavily. "Please be all right, Quatre," he thought, hugging himself as a sudden chill seized him. He rubbed his bare arms.
"You all right?" asked Zechs, noticing the gesture.
"Yes," said Trowa. "I'm worried about my partner."
"You've been together for awhile?" asked Zechs, checking the clip on a shotgun.
"4 years," said Trowa.
"We're going to make sure it's a lot longer," said Treize in a commanding tone, coming over.
A thud resounded against the door.
"Company's here," said Zechs with grim humor.
"Invite them in, Mil," said Treize through his teeth.
Zechs pumped the shotgun once and blasted a hole through one of the doors. An exclamation and a loud curse where heard.
Relena cringed, but held onto her revolver.
Trowa took cover behind one of the leather sofas, beckoning Relena to join him.
Treize did likewise behind the other sofa. Zechs pumped another round into the chamber, and blasted another hole in the heavy doors again.
Trowa patted the young woman's arm reassuringly, and put his hand gently over hers that was gripping the gun.
"Breathe," he said quietly. "Relax, or you'll jerk the trigger."
She swallowed rapidly and nodded exhaling, consciously relaxing her death grip.
Suddenly the door was kicked open, and Trowa gasped as Heero and Duo were thrust through the doorway. Duo stumbled and fell to his knees, bleeding in several places from one arm. Heero staggered, but managed to stay uprig. Zechs grabbed Duo and pulled him up to his feet, and stood in front of him, shotgun poised. Heero quickly took cover behind a leather chair.
"Get down!" ordered Treize from his cover, and Zechs pushed Duo down behind an overturned table as gunshots rang out into the apartment from the doorway.
"Mil!" screamed Relena, and the light from the candle went out, plunging the room into darkness.