8: Feburary third AC 198
____________________________________
Duo leaned back in his chair with his pencil between his upper lip and his nose shifting his jaw back and forth as he listened to Une's briefing of their mission, all of them of unaware of Jin's presence; he sat atop of the table with his legs crossed Indian style with a straw clamped between his teeth with a cap over his head to hide his eyes that happened to be closed at the present moment.
Wufei sat at the head of the table with a stern look on his face as usually, Quatre sat at the end of the table nearest to Duo, Trowa sat beside Heero with his hands on the sides of his face and his elbows on the table listening intently to Une's briefing.
Duo shifted his coalbolt blue eyes toward the boy on the table with a perplexed expression on his face as he examined his sitting position, his shoulders were slumped his body language expressed a sly personality and mysteriousness. He removed the pencil from between his upper lip and nose placing it on the table returning his attention to Une's briefing when Heero nudged him in the ribs.
Duo glanced to the Japanese preventer with a questioning look before Heero pointed using his index finger to something Jin was fiddling with Duo leaned over a bit hoping Une wouldn't notice eyeing Jin's moving fingers pressing against something within his hand before he heard the sound of Une's dull and dry voice.
"Excuse me Maxwell, but what, may I ask is so interesting?" She said her tone wavering on the edge of menace. Duo sat up receiving a glare for Heero before he could answer Une's question. "Err ... nothing ma'am, I was just curious as to what the kid was doing is all...," Duo said halfheartedly looking the other way.
Jin cracked open one eye peering at Une with a suspicious gaze before lifting his head up to meet the woman's brown eyed gaze, she gave him a question look arching her eyebrow. Jin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he examined her posture and her facial expression before he felt her poke him with her stick.
He grunted looking down realizing she had his thick stainless steel cross hanging on the edge of her stick. Une grabbed it off her stick rubbing it against her thumb she shifted her gaze from the cross then to Jin who wore an innocent look.
"Are you a Christian?" Une asked cocking her head to the side. Jin blinked at her before turning his head to the right shrugging. "Nah, I have no religious label. I just liked the way it looked is all..." He paused. "Are you boss of this place or something?" Une's eyes widened in amusement tossing the cross to him, Jin caught it with ease wearing a smirk on his lips.
"Yes I suppose I am the boss of the Preventers," Une replied placing her stick on the table before reaching for a pile of papers in Sally's arms. Duo yawned stretching his arms out rising slowly to his feet followed by Heero who shoved his hands into his pockets making sure he was out of the braided pilot's arms way to prevent from ever getting hit.
Une leaned over the table reaching Duo a file the braided pilot removed it from her grasp placing it against this palm and opening it with his unoccupied hand scanning through quickly Sally reached everyone else their files taking one of herself. Jin watched everyone curiously as he continued to fiddle with his cross until his legs began begging him to get off the table before they separated themselves from his body due to lack of blood circulation.
With a groan, Jin climbed off the table with a grunt almost bumping into Sally, he dodged her gracefully before crashing into Trowa who was making his way around the table. Jin managed to keep from falling briefly apologizing to Trowa before rushing around the table making a mad dash toward the door when he was grabbed by the collar of his jacket by noneother than Heero Yuy. Jin was yanked backward causing the front of his jacket to choke him, Jin let out a strangled noise stumbling backward crashing into Heero's chest with a grunt.
Duo fought the urge not to laugh at him as Jin struggled to break free of Heero's iron grip on the hood of his jacket. "Leggo!" He cried swiping at the Japanese teenager. Heero stared down at him menacingly knowing the boy was up to something. "Where do you think your going?" He said darkly.
Jin glanced upward at Heero his Onyx blue eyes reflected an unknown emotion causing a slight difference in Heero's impassive face; Heero's Prussian blue eye twitched in suspicion before letting him go, Duo watched in confusion as Jin used his body to open the swinging doors before turning to Heero with a questioning glance his jaw shifted slightly. "Why'd you let him go?" Duo asked curiously.
Heero just blinked at him staring at the still swinging doors waiting for them to stop which wouldn't be soon if no one came rushing through the door. Duo sighed knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of Heero anytime soon until he felt like talking about it. "Well, if its any consolation to you," Duo began cheerfully. "You and I are partners once again!" He concluded dramatically with a hint of dread somewhere in his voice.
Heero's eyes widened slightly realizing his wish to be paired with Trowa or Wufei did not come true as if God did it on purpose just to see his reaction. Heero bowed his head as he reached into the inside of his jacket pulling out his gun to make sure it was loaded with a full magazine of bullets. His day had turned from bad to worse in a second.
Duo grinned in a jester-ish way slapping Heero on the back. Hard. "C'mon buddy, let's go round ourselves up some rebels!" He said wrapping his arm around Heero's shoulder. Heero followed him without resistance still playing with his gun when the sound of the double doors being opened caused the Japanese and American preventers to jump back two feet in surprise as the figure came to a sudden quick stop.
She was a short medium built Italian woman with green eyes, dusty brown hair with blue streaks in sever locks of her hair, her preventers skirt and jacket fit her tight as if they didn't fit her at all yet chose to wear it still. Duo eyed her strangely, Une came up from behind Sally with a ghost of worried look on her face.
"What is it, Jennie?" She asked hurriedly. Jennie seemed to be frozen in her place and a bit rattled from what Trowa could gather; her hands were shaking like leaves blowing in the wind on a fall afternoon. "M-ma'am... I have some disturbing news to report," Jennie stuttered taking a deep breath. There was a long pause, silence filled the room.
Duo waited with bated breath for her to continue but Jennie seemed to have blanked out at the last minute, she was just standing there with shaking hands and wide green eyes, her bottom lip quivered to the point where it was almost visibly noticeable.
Une's eyebrows raised in question she folded her arms in annoyance snapping Jennie out of her daze. "Oh--ah. ... yes, now I remember," She sighed heavily biting her bottom lip. "Eriol was found in his taxi injured severally on St. Helen's Road. Since you've never told me what is mission was I'm not sure whether he was accompanied by someone or anything else. He'll have to tell you that." She paused again. "He's in critical care now, and is willing to speak after the nurses clean him up. That's all." Jennie finished lamely.
All five Gundam pilots gave eachother strange looks before shifting their gaze toward Une who wore a contemplative look on her face with her hand cupping her chin. Duo's mouth pouted a bit wanting know who this Eriol person was and why he, a fellow preventer was on a street somewhere near his house.
Une looked up from the floor with her stern commander-ish look on her face. "Thank you Jennie, you may leave now," She said flatly. Jennie nodded whipping her face clean of unknown tears turning away leaving briskly.
Une turned to Duo and Heero first her mouth was in the form of a thin line, both pilots felt her intimidating gaze and stared at her in question raising their eyebrows in unison.
"Gundam pilots," Une began rotating her gaze to Trowa, Wufei, and Quatre then. "You have one hour before you head off on your missions to the Corsica military compound where three mobile suit factories are situated, understood?" She narrowed her gaze at the five of them.
"Roger," Preventer 01 responded. "Heh. Sure thing, boss lady," Preventer 02 grumbled scratching the back of his neck. "Understood," Preventer 03 said in his monotone voice. "All right!" Quatre said cheerfully but the serious gleam in his eyes showed otherwise.
Preventer 05 simply nodded before making his way toward the door with a scowl. Heero stare at him curiously, it was pretty obvious that Wufei knew something they didn't. Une excused herself and exited the room, the gundam pilots followed her example heading toward lounge to discuss the objections of their missions. In the corner of his eye, Heero noticed a certain someone at the end of the hall peering around the corner watching them like a wolf shrouded in the shadows.
_________________________________
Hilde opened her eyes to find herself in another luxurious room with the exact same wall design as the previous one she was in the only thing different in its' appearance was that the walls were peppermint green. Hilde groaned rolling onto her back staring up at the unappealing ceiling the taste of her blood from a busted lip she had no memory of getting was fresh in her mouth.
She attempted to bring herself up into a sitting position by holding her weight up with her elbows supported by her arms but she second her hand bared down into mattress a momentary wave of pain sprinted up her arm causing her arm to reframe and she fell back down onto the too-soft mattress. "Kuso!" She cursed throwing a mental tantrum.
Hilde wished so badly to be somewhere else other than kidnapped that she didn't notice Relena at the end of the bed until her foot placed itself into the vice foreign ministers side knocking her off the bed. Hilde ceased her leg-kicking proceeding to lift herself up slowly off the bed, she used her elbows this time to lift herself into upright position scooting over to edge of the bed to find Relena sitting on her legs rubbing her side to relive her aching ribcage of the pain that hounded them. The honey-blonde girl looked up with a slight scowl peering at Hilde through one eye indicating she was peeved with the German-girl. "What was that for?" She grumbled.
Hilde chuckled sheepishly blushing in embarrassment not bothering to make up an excuse. "Gomen Nasai Relena-san," She replied throwing her legs over the edge of the bed with little effort. Relena climbed off the ground she dusted her clothing of the dust that hindered its angelic white color, Hilde sighed bowing her head trying to relieve her shoulder blades of the aching that Phareil Catalonia's supposed bodyguard that took the pleasure in knocking her upside the head with his handgun and she allowed him to do so.
Whatever happened to be hospital to your prisoners? Mareimaia had more manners than this so-called sister of Dorothy Catalonia. Hilde's face contorted into a furious one; Duo was going to kill her if he ever found out about this, she sighed placing her hand on the back of her neck with the dreading feeling that something horrible was going happen before this was all over; it was either another war or something else she couldn't put her finger on.
Pushing the thoughts aside Hilde turned her head to meet the worried gaze of Relena Darlian, she raised an eyebrow at her in question. "What is it Relena?" She asked curiously. Relena's hair shifted over from off her chest and over her shoulder behind her where it belonged.
The vice foreign minister shook her head managing to crack a small smile despite the situation, Hilde sighed shifting her eyes upward to stare at the ceiling. "I wonder if Duo realizes I'm missing," Hilde grumbled tiredly. Relena chuckled inwardly running her hand through her hair. "He probably thinks we've gone out shopping if you know what I mean," Relena replied in a humorous tone. Hilde smirked shaking her head.
"So how are we going to get out of this mess?" Hilde asked suddenly surprising Relena. The Darlian girl shook her head placing her hands on her lap with a contemplative expression her face. There was a good chance that the room was being monitored by hidden cameras somewhere in the room unseen by her eyes, so she probably wouldn't even get halfway out of the room before they were met with an army of rebels with guns pointing down their throat. So that plan wouldn't work.
Relena sighed in frustration throwing her arms in the air. "I'm not sure Hilde. We might as well wait for something good to come out of all this, if Heero is aware of my disappearance," She said.
Hilde fell backward onto the bed with a groan. "We're going to die," Hilde muttered. Relena smirked shaking her head. "That's too soon of a prediction Hilde Schbeiker. We shall wait this out and see what happens. Only time will tell," She scolded.
Hilde rolled her eyes placing her hand on her head. "Yes, oh wise one," She muttered in annoyance.
____________________________________________
Zechs and Noin traveled down an unexplored corridor with their detonators and guns in hand ready to destroy the factory at anytime, but first they had to capture the rebels. Zechs was confident that would succeed in their mission without any more hindrance than they were already met with.
Noin treaded softly across the ground behind Zechs, she was surprised that his knowledge of Relena being in some sort of danger thanks to his brotherly sixth-sense wasn't clouding his judgment, she smiled at his bravery and his ability to trust in Relena whatever the situation was.
She could take care for herself very well, she had proved that to him by preaching their father's total pacifism ideals under the name of her late foster father while managing to dodge assassination attempts on her life, Relena remained strong. Noin was snapped out of her train of thought by Zechs' sudden stop. She bumped into him causing her to stumble backward.
Noin looked up at Zechs who was peering around the corner at something, curious she came up to his side to take a look herself; her dark blue eyes widened in surprise. Several rebels sat and stood in a circle surrounding a stack of money, it was obvious that they were gambling.
Their disjointed shouts and sentences were hard to make out; they were all yelling at the same time at the top of their voices seeming to be unarmed. Zechs gave Noin a look indicating that he wanted her behind him, she obliged and stepped behind him wondering what his plan was since he hadn't spoken a word to her since they left control room barely managing to sneak pass the scurrying soldiers.
She brushed her hair out of her line of sight just as Zechs tossed a gas mask in her direction, Noin caught it with ease but was puzzled by his sudden action. "I've set up a series of gas bombs in the facility, with one press of a button on this detonator we should be able to knock out all of the soldiers hopefully," Zechs whispered to her as he placed his mask upon his face.
Noin nodded wearily placing her mask on her face giving Zechs the okay to press the button, the white-haired man's thumb pressed against the detonator. No sooner than he did a sparking noise followed by a wave of milky appearing smoke Noin recognized as gas, the guards around the corner all fell to the ground with loud nerve wracking thuds several more down the fall the two were facing followed.
"It worked!" Zechs muttered to himself bolting forward in one swift movement. Noin groaned and followed him hoping they weren't caught by anyone who wasn't affected by the gas yet.
__________________________________________________