Title: Exercising an Option
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Action, Suspense Pairing: 13x6, 1x2, 3x4, 5xS Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Language, Violence Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, GWFF, SDQB, FF.net
Chapter 27
"She wasn't really crying, was she?" whispered Trowa, flexing his freed hands again.
"More like chewing me out royally," sighed Quatre in his ear. "I must be insane."
They were still in what they assumed to be a guest bedroom of Trieze and Zechs' apartment, Marron and Une holding counsel quietly in one corner, heads together.
Quatre and Trowa sat on the bed.
"Allah, but I'm tired," said Quatre, rubbing his red rimmed eyes and scratching his chin.
Trowa slid an arm around his waist, allowing the smaller man to lean against him. "Be over soon," he said. "You should lie down."
"What about you?" asked Quatre, looking up. "You have to be at least as exhausted as I am."
"I'll let you sleep first, then wake you up."
"You don't trust them anymore than I do," stated Quatre in a whisper close to his ear.
Trowa shook his head once.
Quatre lie on the bed with a sigh. "I don't know if I can sleep," he said aloud.
"I suggest you attempt it," said Une, breaking her huddle with Marron and coming over.
"As a show of good faith, we'll allow you to stay here in this room, with a guard at the door of course. No tricks."
"Of course not," said Quatre, managing to sound slightly indignant.
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you," said Marron, grinning humorlessly.
He and Une left, making sure that Slim was outside the door as guard.
"The pleasure was all mine," said Quatre, closing his eyes. He patted the bed beside him. "Might as well lie down Tro, and wait for the fireworks to start."
Trowa lay down next to him and put his head on Quatre's shoulder. "You need a shower," he said, rubbing his nose along Quatre's collarbone.
Quatre chuckled. "You'll just have to take me as I am, muHibb."
"I'm sure I'm no sweeter," said Trowa, smiling against his neck.
"I never noticed. You're here, that's what counts."
"We're playing a dangerous game, mon coeur."
"It's the only game I think I can win," said Quatre soberly, pulling him closer. "I just hope I'm reading the cards right." He exhaled and closed his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're loosing night cover," said Heero, sitting up among a large group of boulders on a hill behind the inn.
"Considering we've avoided a road-block and 6 FBI agents," said Wufei, "I think we're doing quite well for a couple of idiots playing vigilante."
Something that looked vaguely like a smirk passed over Heero's stoic features.
"We still got it," he said, gazing down the hill at the inn. "We're stealthy."
"Well, let's make sure we keep it," said Wufei sarcastically, beginning to creep slowly towards the rear entrance of the inn, Heero close behind.
"Admit it, you're getting a rush from this," said Heero, as they picked their way around boulders and brush.
"If you call gut wrenching terror a rush, yeah," whispered Wufei.
They made their way in silence to the entrance to the mechanical room, and Wufei used the key. The door opened with a slight squeak, which made Wufei start slightly.
Heero went in first, gun drawn, making no sound, Wufei following.
"Remember our plan," hissed Heero, as they came out in the kitchen.
"We have a plan?" asked Wufei back at him, whispering.
"Not funny," growled Heero.
They inched through the kitchen where Duo and Heero had come through earlier. Heero thought of Duo lying pale against the rough white hospital sheets and ground his teeth.
When they came to the door that led out to the dining area, Heero stopped and listened intently, then motioned Wufei on through.
They went on to the door entering the lobby, stopping again.
"Where is everyone?" asked Wufei, almost inaudibly.
Heero pointed up. They slowly opened the door, and a shot rang out, slamming into the door Heero had opened.
He quickly stepped back. "Okay, that was a bad idea," said Heero.
McGuire called out, "Whoever's down there, surrender yourself now, and I might not blow your fucking brains out."
"I'm going to pretend to surrender, and you jump out and shoot him," whispered Wufei.
"Great idea, why don't you just shoot yourself, baka?" grunted Heero.
"You got a better one?" asked Wufei. Heero shook his head.
"Don't shoot!" yelled Wufei, "I'll drop my gun and come out."
He slid his gun out on the floor and stepped out, hands in the air.
"Well, you're not a cop," said McGuire, coming down the stairs, his gun trained on Wufei's chest.
Heero rolled out behind Wufei and shot McGuire in the forehead.
The man fell heavily, rolling down the steps and landing in a boneless, unseeing heap at the foot of the staircase.
"Holy shit!" hissed Wufei, running to scoop up his gun and running up the stairs two at a time, Heero close behind him.
"Go!" said Heero, as Wufei reached the top of the landing and kicked what was left of the door aside.
A volley of shots went past their heads and Heero turned, as Wufei shot Slim in the right shoulder, and the gun dropped nervelessly from his hand. Slim shrieked and dropped to his knees, unconscious.
"Heero!" called Wufei. "Find Quatre and Trowa, they're not here."
He quickly cut Treize bonds with a knife from a leg sheath and pulled him to his feet. "Where are Quatre and Trowa?" he asked breathlessly.
"Come on," Treize said, leading them to the back of the apartment. Relena's eyes were wide with fear, and she ran over and threw herself over Zechs prone form, in a belated attempt to shield him.
Marron stepped out of the back room, holding Quatre around the neck, a gun pressed to his temple.
"Stop there, or I send your friend to paradise," he stated coldly.
Wufei stopped and held up his hands.
"Drop your gun," ordered Marron.
"You won't get out of here alive," said Wufei. He glanced fleetingly over at Heero, who was concealed behind a table in an alcove in the hallway. Quatre's eyes caught the brief motion to his right.
"Neither will your friends," snarled Marron, tightening his hold on Quatre's neck, causing him to gasp.
Heero had his revolver trained on Marron, but was unable to shoot because of his proximity to Quatre. Suddenly Quatre's knees buckled and he went limp in Marron's grasp. Marron cursed, trying to hold on to the blond's sagging form as he slid to the floor.
A shot rang out and Marron jerked as Heero's bullet went through his temple, falling heavily on top of Quatre's prone form. Wufei gave Treize a startled look.
"Well, don't just stand there, 'Fei, get this bastard off of me!" grated Quatre, struggling underneath the man's heavy body. "That woman has Trowa in there!"
Treize rolled Marron's body off of Quatre, who jumped to his feet and flung himself against the locked bedroom door.
A shot was heard from inside and Quatre looked frantically at Wufei. Wufei handed Treize his revolver and yelling at the top of his lungs, kicked in the door with one adrenaline fueled flying kick.
"Trowa!" Quatre shouted. "Answer me!"
"I'm all right," came Trowa's calm reply from inside the room, as Heero, Wufei and Treize all came into the room. He was kneeling over a prone form, his shirt off. Quatre ran over and knelt beside him, looking inquiringly into his face. Trowa shook his head, holding his shirt against the wound in Une's neck.
Une lay on the floor, her revolver a few paces from her outstretched hand. Heero went over and picked up the revolver, sticking it in the waistband of his jeans. A long deep slash from her neck to her collarbone was bleeding profusely as Trowa held his shirt against it.
"Treize," she murmured, as the red-haired man knelt on the bloody carpet next to her head.
"I'll help you," said Treize, nodding at Trowa as he pressed his own hand against the bleeding wound.
"Sorry," she said, her eyes glazing over as she slid into unconsciousness.
"Me too," whispered Treize.
"We need an ambulance here now," said Wufei.
"There's a satellite phone there in her pack," said Quatre, pointing at the pack Une had on her back, now lying against a chair.
Wufei reached inside and came out with the yellow phone. He punched in 911.
Relena came in, looking around anxiously. "Is it all over?" she asked, holding her still bound hands in front of her.
"Yes," said Heero tersely, coming over and cutting the leather straps with his commando knife.
"Thank God!" she said, flinging her arms around Heero, who stood still with widened eyes and looked over at Wufei.
"Relena Darlian, meet Heero Yuy," said Treize, still holding the impromptu bandage against an unconscious Une's neck.
"I've never been so glad to meet anyone in my life," said Relena, releasing him and holding out her hand.
"You're welcome," said Heero politely, and bowed slightly, ignoring her offered hand.
Relena knitted her brows and shrugged, going over to Treize.
"Strange fellow," she murmured, giving Treize a puzzled look.
"Yes, but an excellent shot," said Treize, smiling at her.
"A helicopter is coming to take the wounded to emergency," said Wufei, shutting off the phone.
"What about the FBI?" said Heero.
"I think they should be showing up any minute," said Wufei. "They had to have noticed those shots."
"You know we're in deep shit," said Heero to Wufei, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but we did it," said Wufei, grinning briefly at the other man and shrugging unconcernedly.
"Here, let me do that," said Relena to Treize. "You go be with Mil, he needs you." She pushed his hands away and held the bloody shirt to Une's wound.
Treize nodded gratefully and left the room.
"I have to call Sally," said Wufei to Heero. "She needs to know we're all right."
Loud footsteps where heard then.
"FBI!" said Hastings voice loudly from the top of the stairs. "Throw down your weapons and come out!"
Heero shook his head. "You want to talk to them, or should I?" he asked Wufei.
"I'll do it," said Quatre, suddenly. "Come on, Trowa, let's go negotiate."
Trowa shook his head, saying nothing, and followed him out of the room.
Author: Gina Lin Genre: Romance, Action, Suspense Pairing: 13x6, 1x2, 3x4, 5xS Warnings: AU, Yaoi, Language, Violence Rating: R Archived: S_E Updates, GWFF, SDQB, FF.net
Chapter 27
"She wasn't really crying, was she?" whispered Trowa, flexing his freed hands again.
"More like chewing me out royally," sighed Quatre in his ear. "I must be insane."
They were still in what they assumed to be a guest bedroom of Trieze and Zechs' apartment, Marron and Une holding counsel quietly in one corner, heads together.
Quatre and Trowa sat on the bed.
"Allah, but I'm tired," said Quatre, rubbing his red rimmed eyes and scratching his chin.
Trowa slid an arm around his waist, allowing the smaller man to lean against him. "Be over soon," he said. "You should lie down."
"What about you?" asked Quatre, looking up. "You have to be at least as exhausted as I am."
"I'll let you sleep first, then wake you up."
"You don't trust them anymore than I do," stated Quatre in a whisper close to his ear.
Trowa shook his head once.
Quatre lie on the bed with a sigh. "I don't know if I can sleep," he said aloud.
"I suggest you attempt it," said Une, breaking her huddle with Marron and coming over.
"As a show of good faith, we'll allow you to stay here in this room, with a guard at the door of course. No tricks."
"Of course not," said Quatre, managing to sound slightly indignant.
"It has been a pleasure doing business with you," said Marron, grinning humorlessly.
He and Une left, making sure that Slim was outside the door as guard.
"The pleasure was all mine," said Quatre, closing his eyes. He patted the bed beside him. "Might as well lie down Tro, and wait for the fireworks to start."
Trowa lay down next to him and put his head on Quatre's shoulder. "You need a shower," he said, rubbing his nose along Quatre's collarbone.
Quatre chuckled. "You'll just have to take me as I am, muHibb."
"I'm sure I'm no sweeter," said Trowa, smiling against his neck.
"I never noticed. You're here, that's what counts."
"We're playing a dangerous game, mon coeur."
"It's the only game I think I can win," said Quatre soberly, pulling him closer. "I just hope I'm reading the cards right." He exhaled and closed his eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're loosing night cover," said Heero, sitting up among a large group of boulders on a hill behind the inn.
"Considering we've avoided a road-block and 6 FBI agents," said Wufei, "I think we're doing quite well for a couple of idiots playing vigilante."
Something that looked vaguely like a smirk passed over Heero's stoic features.
"We still got it," he said, gazing down the hill at the inn. "We're stealthy."
"Well, let's make sure we keep it," said Wufei sarcastically, beginning to creep slowly towards the rear entrance of the inn, Heero close behind.
"Admit it, you're getting a rush from this," said Heero, as they picked their way around boulders and brush.
"If you call gut wrenching terror a rush, yeah," whispered Wufei.
They made their way in silence to the entrance to the mechanical room, and Wufei used the key. The door opened with a slight squeak, which made Wufei start slightly.
Heero went in first, gun drawn, making no sound, Wufei following.
"Remember our plan," hissed Heero, as they came out in the kitchen.
"We have a plan?" asked Wufei back at him, whispering.
"Not funny," growled Heero.
They inched through the kitchen where Duo and Heero had come through earlier. Heero thought of Duo lying pale against the rough white hospital sheets and ground his teeth.
When they came to the door that led out to the dining area, Heero stopped and listened intently, then motioned Wufei on through.
They went on to the door entering the lobby, stopping again.
"Where is everyone?" asked Wufei, almost inaudibly.
Heero pointed up. They slowly opened the door, and a shot rang out, slamming into the door Heero had opened.
He quickly stepped back. "Okay, that was a bad idea," said Heero.
McGuire called out, "Whoever's down there, surrender yourself now, and I might not blow your fucking brains out."
"I'm going to pretend to surrender, and you jump out and shoot him," whispered Wufei.
"Great idea, why don't you just shoot yourself, baka?" grunted Heero.
"You got a better one?" asked Wufei. Heero shook his head.
"Don't shoot!" yelled Wufei, "I'll drop my gun and come out."
He slid his gun out on the floor and stepped out, hands in the air.
"Well, you're not a cop," said McGuire, coming down the stairs, his gun trained on Wufei's chest.
Heero rolled out behind Wufei and shot McGuire in the forehead.
The man fell heavily, rolling down the steps and landing in a boneless, unseeing heap at the foot of the staircase.
"Holy shit!" hissed Wufei, running to scoop up his gun and running up the stairs two at a time, Heero close behind him.
"Go!" said Heero, as Wufei reached the top of the landing and kicked what was left of the door aside.
A volley of shots went past their heads and Heero turned, as Wufei shot Slim in the right shoulder, and the gun dropped nervelessly from his hand. Slim shrieked and dropped to his knees, unconscious.
"Heero!" called Wufei. "Find Quatre and Trowa, they're not here."
He quickly cut Treize bonds with a knife from a leg sheath and pulled him to his feet. "Where are Quatre and Trowa?" he asked breathlessly.
"Come on," Treize said, leading them to the back of the apartment. Relena's eyes were wide with fear, and she ran over and threw herself over Zechs prone form, in a belated attempt to shield him.
Marron stepped out of the back room, holding Quatre around the neck, a gun pressed to his temple.
"Stop there, or I send your friend to paradise," he stated coldly.
Wufei stopped and held up his hands.
"Drop your gun," ordered Marron.
"You won't get out of here alive," said Wufei. He glanced fleetingly over at Heero, who was concealed behind a table in an alcove in the hallway. Quatre's eyes caught the brief motion to his right.
"Neither will your friends," snarled Marron, tightening his hold on Quatre's neck, causing him to gasp.
Heero had his revolver trained on Marron, but was unable to shoot because of his proximity to Quatre. Suddenly Quatre's knees buckled and he went limp in Marron's grasp. Marron cursed, trying to hold on to the blond's sagging form as he slid to the floor.
A shot rang out and Marron jerked as Heero's bullet went through his temple, falling heavily on top of Quatre's prone form. Wufei gave Treize a startled look.
"Well, don't just stand there, 'Fei, get this bastard off of me!" grated Quatre, struggling underneath the man's heavy body. "That woman has Trowa in there!"
Treize rolled Marron's body off of Quatre, who jumped to his feet and flung himself against the locked bedroom door.
A shot was heard from inside and Quatre looked frantically at Wufei. Wufei handed Treize his revolver and yelling at the top of his lungs, kicked in the door with one adrenaline fueled flying kick.
"Trowa!" Quatre shouted. "Answer me!"
"I'm all right," came Trowa's calm reply from inside the room, as Heero, Wufei and Treize all came into the room. He was kneeling over a prone form, his shirt off. Quatre ran over and knelt beside him, looking inquiringly into his face. Trowa shook his head, holding his shirt against the wound in Une's neck.
Une lay on the floor, her revolver a few paces from her outstretched hand. Heero went over and picked up the revolver, sticking it in the waistband of his jeans. A long deep slash from her neck to her collarbone was bleeding profusely as Trowa held his shirt against it.
"Treize," she murmured, as the red-haired man knelt on the bloody carpet next to her head.
"I'll help you," said Treize, nodding at Trowa as he pressed his own hand against the bleeding wound.
"Sorry," she said, her eyes glazing over as she slid into unconsciousness.
"Me too," whispered Treize.
"We need an ambulance here now," said Wufei.
"There's a satellite phone there in her pack," said Quatre, pointing at the pack Une had on her back, now lying against a chair.
Wufei reached inside and came out with the yellow phone. He punched in 911.
Relena came in, looking around anxiously. "Is it all over?" she asked, holding her still bound hands in front of her.
"Yes," said Heero tersely, coming over and cutting the leather straps with his commando knife.
"Thank God!" she said, flinging her arms around Heero, who stood still with widened eyes and looked over at Wufei.
"Relena Darlian, meet Heero Yuy," said Treize, still holding the impromptu bandage against an unconscious Une's neck.
"I've never been so glad to meet anyone in my life," said Relena, releasing him and holding out her hand.
"You're welcome," said Heero politely, and bowed slightly, ignoring her offered hand.
Relena knitted her brows and shrugged, going over to Treize.
"Strange fellow," she murmured, giving Treize a puzzled look.
"Yes, but an excellent shot," said Treize, smiling at her.
"A helicopter is coming to take the wounded to emergency," said Wufei, shutting off the phone.
"What about the FBI?" said Heero.
"I think they should be showing up any minute," said Wufei. "They had to have noticed those shots."
"You know we're in deep shit," said Heero to Wufei, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but we did it," said Wufei, grinning briefly at the other man and shrugging unconcernedly.
"Here, let me do that," said Relena to Treize. "You go be with Mil, he needs you." She pushed his hands away and held the bloody shirt to Une's wound.
Treize nodded gratefully and left the room.
"I have to call Sally," said Wufei to Heero. "She needs to know we're all right."
Loud footsteps where heard then.
"FBI!" said Hastings voice loudly from the top of the stairs. "Throw down your weapons and come out!"
Heero shook his head. "You want to talk to them, or should I?" he asked Wufei.
"I'll do it," said Quatre, suddenly. "Come on, Trowa, let's go negotiate."
Trowa shook his head, saying nothing, and followed him out of the room.