AN: Well Hello! Once again I would like to thank you all for sending me a review or comment! I love the and absolutely appreciate them! This is chapter 12! YES! This chapter promises some action and more plot developments! I'm so excited to see how this story will end. I hope that you are too. Thank you and remember to review or send a comment to me if you wish to see another chapter. Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.
Colony L1 enemy base….
For days Wufei had been hiding within the shadows. He had discovered the enemy's base just where Lady Une and Heero had said it would be. An old warehouse on colony L1. At first things seemed standard enough. Wufei wasn't even sure if he was in the right place. The warehouse was simply full of boxes of all sizes. The people who were working there were not and did nothing out of the ordinary to make them seem criminal, let alone making them seem associated with a terrorist group. Wufei had even opened several of the boxes to see if they contained weapons or any type of biological warfare. Instead he found clothing, artificial flowers, tools, and just about any other item you could think of. To him it just seemed like a normal storage facility and he cursed himself for even being assigned the mission.
On the third day of his mission however, he picked up an interesting piece of information. While listening in on a conversation held by two workers one day, he heard that Representative Clemens of L3 colony owned the warehouse itself. This news pushed Wufei to investigate further. Why would a man from L3, especially a diplomat, wish to own a warehouse such as this? Clearly something was amiss.
That's when Wufei discovered it. At the very back of the warehouse was where the largest storage boxes were kept. While walking back there one day, he caught sight of two uniformed men: carrying firearms.
Wufei ducked in between some boxes to keep out of sight. He blended in with the shadows as he watched the two men draw near him. Suddenly they disappeared into one of the large wooden crates. Wufei blinked his eyes. They were there one minute and gone the next. He hopped out from his hiding place and stood right where the two men had just been.
"A secret door," he muttered under his breath.
He began to feel around, trying to locate a switch of some kind that would activate the door. After ten minutes without success, the Chinese man growled in irritation.
"Injustice!" he cried as he punched the wooden crate.
Suddenly side of the box slid open and revealed a set of stairs led down. Wufei grumbled again but began to cautiously make his way down the winding staircase, his gun caulked and ready.
He reached the end of the winding staircase. No enemy had been sighted yet. He now found himself in a long gray corridor. The only door was apparently at the end of the hallway. Again Wufei proceeded cautiously to his destination. He reached the door. He tried to open it but found that it was locked. He looked around. A card slot had been placed next to the door on the wall. Wufei looked at the security card that he had been given. Lady Une had told him to review the security codes and passwords and to use the identification he had obtained when necessary. Right now it seemed necessary.
Wufei ran the identification card through the slot and held his breath. He did not wish to give himself away should the card fail. But as luck would have it, the card passed and the door unlocked allowing the young man to turn the handle and once again proceed into the unknown.
The next thing Wufei experienced however not what he had expected nor wanted was. After the door opened, Wufei found himself in a large construction bay filled entirely with mobile suits. He quickly ducked behind one of the massive machines as uniformed officers passed by his way. When they had gone he made a quick estimate in his head. The bay was enormous, bigger than the one in the Preventers spaceport. The suits were a new type, but they were nothing the Gundams couldn't handle. He estimated about one hundred suits. Impressive for a terrorist group but not nearly enough to take over the universe thought Wufei to himself.
He made his way cautiously through the bay observing each of the suits. None of them seemed to be complete and ready for battle. Where then were the completed mobile suits that the enemy was using to attack earth? They had to be in the base somewhere. Another thing was bothering the young pilot though. He had heard upstairs that Representative Clemens owned the warehouse. Surely the Preventers had proof enough to take him in for questioning. But why would a man of his stature and political background do such a thing?
Wufei nearly slapped himself.
"He wants total independence for the colonies," he whispered to himself quietly.
Preventer's spaceport…
"Captain, are you sure?" asked Lady Une through the Vidphone.
"Yes, he has to be the one. Clemens owns this warehouse. Mobile suits are being constructed below grounds. He has to be the one behind all of this," whispered Wufei through his wristcom.
"Very well, see if you can not find out anything more. We will keep a close watch on Clemens and inform Miss Relena and the others about the information you have discovered. Be careful."
Wufei nodded then disconnected the line.
Lady Une sighed as she looked at Noin.
"We're getting closer."
Noin nodded. This could be there key ticket to solving this mystery. If Wufei checked in later with more news to suspect Clemens further, they would be able to have a warrant for his arrest within minutes.
"Should I make the report, mam?" asked Noin.
"Yes, inform Miss Relena that we have good reason to suspect Clemens further. Tell Merquis to tighten her security just in case. We are so close right now. All we must do now is sit and wait for Wufei to contact us again."
Noin nodded then left the office and down the hall to her own private bunk. She would make the call from there so that she could be sure of a secure line.
"Noin are you sure?" asked Relena worriedly.
"Yes, Relena, we just finished speaking to Wufei only ten minutes ago. He told us he would search more and report back in a few hours."
"Very well, Noin. Keep us informed."
"I will, take care all of you."
"You too," replied Relena before the line disconnected.
"Well I must say that I am shocked," said Quatre quietly.
"I'm not," replied Relena somewhat bitterly. "There has been a sudden change in his demeanor lately. With all that has happened, the way he has been speaking to me, and now this. I hope that we are getting close to finishing all this."
"We are, I can feel it," said Zechs as he patted her on the shoulder reassuringly.
"In the meantime, I suggest we do whatever we need to in order to keep you safe Ms. Relena," Quatre stated.
"I agree," said Zechs.
Relena sighed inwardly. She was just so tired. She still had to attend that formal dinner party too. Clemens would be there. She had to keep and eye on him. She could feel that something was amiss and it wasn't just the new information that they had uncovered.
Enemy base….
Wufei continued to search through the mobile suit bay. He still couldn't find any traces of a completed mobile suit. His frustration was beginning to grow. Wufei impatiently but silently prodded through the working bay, making sure to avoid the mechanics and soldiers that he passed.
A few feet ahead Wufei could make out some sort of control room. Several uniformed officers walked out the door, leaving the room totally vacant and at his use. Wufei crept inside and shut the door behind him. He made sure to lock it to buy himself some time to hide should the officers come back. He absorbed his new surroundings. Several computers glowed with light, video and security screens showed images from all around the bay as well as inside the control room he was in. There were blueprints that showed mobile suit plans. Wufei studied them carefully. He sat down at one of the computers and began to type furiously. He searched until he found the blueprints on the computer. He made a quick copy of the plans onto a disk that he had brought with him.
The Chinese pilot continued to search quickly through the data base. He needed all the information he could to help the Preventers. He stopped suddenly, his eyes frozen to the screen. Before him was a model of a large space station, much larger than Preventers. It looked like a small moon, orbiting and floating in space. This base is just a decoy. When the suits are completed here, they must be sent to the main base, thought Wufei. He snapped out of his thoughts and copied all the information onto the disk. This was worth looking at. He slid the disk into his boot for safe keeping.
Voices caused Wufei to jump. The door was about to open! He quickly slid underneath a desk. Two uniformed officers walked into the control room, talking quietly to each other.
"You heard the orders right?"
"Sure did. I all ready transmitted the information to our men."
"Good. After the Preventers space port is destroyed, nothing will stop us."
Wufei froze. They were planning to destroy the Preventers base. He had to get out of there and find a way to warn Lady Une and the others. Though his agitation was growing, Wufei waited patiently until the officers left again. He quickly crept out of the office and ducked in and out of the bay avoiding the workers. Finally he found a secluded corner in the bay where he could make the call to Lady Une. Wufei was about to activate his wristcom when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun around to see a fist heading straight for his face.
Preventers space port…
Duo and Hilde sat silently in the dark mobile suit bay. All was quiet. Everyone else had retired to their bunks hours ago. They were currently hiding inside the cockpit of Deathscythe.
"Duo, look," whispered Hilde as she pointed across the bay. Three dark figures were making their way through the darkness. One of them carried a large box.
Duo nodded to Hilde. Together, they made their way out of Deathscythe and towards the three figures, hiding themselves in the shadows. As they crept closer they could make out their features more clearly. Two men and a woman who had been seen working as mechanics during the day, now were dressed entirely in black and ready to complete a mission. The woman was the one who carried the large box.
Duo and Hilde watched as they set the box down next to a control panel. The two men began to adjust several wires. Realization hit Duo hard,
"Hilde it's a bomb! They're going to blow this whole place into space!" Without warning Duo charged from his hiding spot toward the three characters.
Taken completely by surprise, the woman and one of the men fell onto the ground as Duo tackled them. He stood and faced the other man who had not fallen. The man was about Duo's height and stature, although he was much older. He charged at Duo and the two of them began a vicious onslaught of punches.
"Hilde! You have to disable that bomb!" gasped Duo frantically as he struggled with the man.
"Duo, look out!" cried Hilde as the other man, who had recovered from his fall, came behind Duo and pulled him into a headlock. Duo kicked the first man and then managed to throw the other over his shoulder.
"Get the bomb!" he cried desperately. The two men were stronger than he thought. Trained soldiers, maybe even more. But that didn't matter. He had to buy Hilde time to disable that bomb.
Hilde did as she was told. She knelt down in front of the box ad started to work with the wires. Thank God for all my training in OZ. She disengaged what she thought to be the right wire. However the clock on the bomb lit up and glowed brightly with a warning: two minutes. Hilde desperately tried to search for the right wire. A red one caught her eye. She was just about to disable it, when she felt a sharp blow to her ribs.
Hilde gasped and rolled over in pain. She clutched her side and looked up to see the woman, now kneeling in front of the bomb again. Hilde gritted her teeth, rose to her feet, and charged at the woman tackling her to the ground. The woman cried out and struggled with Hilde. But Hilde punched her hard, knocking the woman senseless for a moment.Hilde looked over at Duo who had taken down one man for good, but was still struggling with the other. Her eyes caught site of the bomb clock: one minute left.
Duo took an onslaught of punches from his opponent. This man was not just an ordinary soldier. He was a trained assassin. Duo could tell by the way he fought. He glanced over at Hilde who was struggling with the bomb. He had to help her. With a cry Duo charged into the man, kicking and throwing punches, using all his skills and training. Finally with one final blow the man fell. Duo gasped for air and ran over to meet Hilde.
There were only fifteen seconds left…
"Come on babe," said Duo.
"I'm trying," Hilde cried desperately.
Seven seconds….
Hilde once again found herself staring at the red wire. This has to be it, this has to be it.
Four…
Hilde closed her eyes and pulled the wire. The clock stopped. Duo let out a long held breath. Hilde opened her eyes. She was still alive. They were still alive. She looked over at Duo who was staring down at her admirably.
"Hilde, you did it," he said quietly as he pulled her to him.
"Wrong," cried a voice from behind them. They spun around to see the woman pointing a gun straight towards them. In her other hand she held a detonator.
Duo instinctively thrust Hilde behind him and held her hand. If they were going to die, they would die together.
"You and everyone on this ship are going to die!" cried the woman insanely. She clenched the trigger tightly. Duo closed his eyes and waited for the bullet to impale his throat.
He heard shots, but felt no pain. He felt nothing. He heard nothing. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. The body of the woman lay on the floor in a pool of blood. Behind her stood Sally Poe and Lucrezia Noin; their weapons smoking from the shots that they had just fired.
"You guys really need to learn to be quieter," Sally said quietly to Duo and Hilde as she and Noin lowered their guns.
AN: Well that is chapter 12. I hope that you enjoyed it. Especially the end. I thought that that was a really fun and exciting part to write. O the suspense! Anyways… please remember to send an email if you wish to see the next chapter. This is the rule! I want to make sure I am interesting some people. Next chapter will be coming up shortly. So stay tuned and keep reading!
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