Too Lost to be Saved
by: WolfCry17
Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing.
AN: Sorry this took soo long! However, finals are just around the corner...so, I have been studying like mad! And, of course, tennis isn't in the least bit helpful. ;p Thanks again for the reviews! And don't worry, I have many plans for all our dear gundam couples, and it won't be just random show ups, I promise! I just love them all so much! I am even trying to work out a role for MarieMaya! We'll see how it goes. So here is chapter five *cheers*!
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Chapter 5 ~ The Chase
October 22, AC 197, Colony L2-C8923 Jefferson & Company Medical Research Facility
In the midst of a darkened hallway with ash littering the unstable floor, three lone shadows of figures appeared around a corner squabbling about something. "How did you manage to forget, amongst everything else, to grab the profiles of the eleven doctors when we were ordered to destroy any and all evidence?" The overly scrawny one of the three complained tirelessly toward the other two. They were all dressed in full black uniforms with each a gun ready on their hips for emergency. "Now, because of you incompetents, we are now forced to find those documents and discard them at once, and there are cops sprawled all around the place!"
The only female and the most built of any of them grumbled under her breath at the accusations directed toward her and her partner. Her hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail that was braided to her thigh and a scrowl reached her hard-fixed features. "Hey, get a few things straight, buddy," She pulled a knife to the man's throat almost simultaneouosly, "First off, we were told Officer Daniels was to take care of it, so fuss all you want at him, and secondly, don't forget that if it wasn't for your sorry ass, Une's daughter would never have escaped in the first place, and we wouldn't be on this mission. And thirdly, SHUT UP!" She removed the knife from the man's neck just as swiftly as she had placed it there, and then turned on her heel.
The scrawny one growled viciously under his breath as he tenderly rubbed his neck that contained his precious air supply and essentially his life when he couldn't counter the woman's venomous reponse. Silence soon encompassed the three as they cautiously made their way to a single door. Once they reached it, however, the shuffeling of paper and the silent whispers resonating from inside forced the three to draw their guns in suspicion. "What is that?" The three eyed each other intently as they reached for the doorknob.
*~*
"They were used as test subjects!"
Hilde's eyes widened suddenly as she met Duo's very startled cobalt blue eyes. "Test subjects for what?" Before her question was answered, the eerie stillness was abrubtly broken with a sudden racket of the only door as the knob was vigorously turned. Hilde gasped as the air in her throat caught when Duo pulled her to the ground beside him. He quickly stuffed the portfolios into a small black bag as the door finally creaked open with three sets of footsteps, or as Duo figured.
Duo turned back toward Hilde and signaled for her to follow him behind the desk as the light from the intruders' own flashlight headed their way. Hilde followed him as quickly as she could to avoid from being seen and then copied Duo as he leaned against the side of the desk and cocked his gun.
The female with a braided ponytail shined her flashlight in the direction of where she thought she heard a gun being cocked. As she found the desk, she caught a glimpse of a small foot as it disappeared on the other side of the desk. The woman signaled the two men toward the desk as she proceeded toward it with her gun pointed in front of her. The two men nodded and followed in pursuit. The woman kneeled down to the floor and crawled quietly to the side where she saw the foot disappear as the two men continued upright.
Duo placed his ear against the desk to guess where the three 'men' were, but strangely found he lost a set of footsteps if there were three in the first place at all. He shrugged it off reluctantly, guessing he just miscalculated. He wasn't the great Heero Yuy after all. He prepared to fire and signaled to Hilde once again as he raised one finger, then two, then... three! Duo and Hilde immediately shot up from their momentary cover behind the desk and suddenly got caught in cross fire in the dark.
Through the curtain of darkness, Duo found two shadows dive behind a few rows of cabinets to avoid from being pierced by incoming bullets. 'There ARE only two!' Duo affirmed silently to himself as he suddenly ducked to also avoid backfire and switched guns in the process. 'Yet, something doesn't smell right.' He watched Hilde duck herself, but just as instantly rose again to fire in the direction toward the file cabinets. Duo took another breath to steady himself and quickly followed suit.
Suddenly, Duo found his chance and fired swiftly to increase his accuracy. The bullet sped and sliced through the air until it pierced through thick fabric of black leather to feast upon the tender flesh below. The tall, scrawny man grabbed his blood-painted leg and growling, bit his lip to suppress a scream as water poured from the bottom lids of his eyes. He staggered helplessly and leaned against the cabinets as the other man, who had remained quiet throughout the day, cautiously moved toward him.
"What happened?"
"DAMN SON OF A BITCH SHOT ME!" the scrawny one seethed through his teeth, trying to keep whatever scream lay within him from coming out.
Duo smirked in achievement as he ducked again to reload his two guns.
Meanwhile, the braided woman, who had managed to remain unnoticed by either Duo or Hilde, slowly rounded the desk when she heard the small growl from the man who had been previously scolding her about half an hour ago. She rolled her eyes in irritation at the cowardly man's incompetence. She decided to claim this chance to make her move.
Hilde leaned against the desk and wiped the sweat from her forehead that had collected as she fumbled with a few bullets in an attempt to reload her gun. The sweat that filled the palms of her hands allowed her no success. Suddenly, she felt her body stiffen almost subconsciously as she felt the smooth, cold metal of the barrel of a gun caress her neck. She slightly shivered upon its embrace and followed the gun to the owner, a female with raven black hair pulled back tightly. As Hilde recovered from her initial shock, she glared deathly towards the woman who now held her life.
The woman looked toward her prey and smirked evilly with a conquering eye. "That's enough! Don't waste any more bullets, or one will be wasted on her."
Upon hearing the husky female voice, Duo stiffened in defeat as no more shots were fired. 'So there WERE THREE of them, after all.' Duo cursed himself for not being more alert as he looked toward Hilde's captor and lowered his weapons to the floor. He then glanced down to Hilde's steady, fearless gaze, that same gaze she had the day she escaped from the battleship libra, desperate to get to him. He had called her a stupid and foolish woman that day, and her only response was a single, all-knowing smile. He never meant it. He never once thought that of her. He was only angry that day for her selfless actions and that they could have cost her, her life. She stood just as stubborn and strong now as she did that day, and god, how he loved her for it. She spoke to him through those goddess- like eyes of hers, showing him that she completely trusted him.
Duo's gaze was abrubtly brought back to the reality of the situation when the braided, raven-headed woman broke the silence. "Okay, now tell me who you are and what you are doing here." The two men walked, the scrawny one limping, over and grabbed each of Hilde's arms roughly as the woman approached Duo.
Duo caught Hilde's eye again and smirked to the woman before him. "Oh, we were just hired on the job as sweepers from the Maxwell & Schbieker Sweeper Incorporation. We're here on behalf of the Space Force Police Department. Now, my question is WHO are YOU and why are you holding us hostage?"
The woman growled as she moved in to slap Duo across the face with a hard blow. Duo's head flew to his right from the impact. "You are our prisoners, and we shall ask the questions here, buddy. You can start by answering my question with no more lies."
Duo rubbed his throbbing cheek as he craned his neck to recover from the sudden blow. "I don't know what you mean. I've told you nothing, but the truth, pal."
The woman rose her hand once more, but halted in mid-air. "You lie. The SFPD never contacts any sweeper organization until they have fully investigated the situation. Everybody knows that. Your sweeper jumpsuits are real enough, so I am guessing you used your job status to sneak into this building to investigate on your own. Therefore, you must be connected somehow with the Preventers, especially since the SFPD is at the moment searching for two intruders claiming to be sweeper agents. I can only assume that means the two of you."
Hilde's eyes widened noticably at the blow of their cover and quickly reacted. She kicked the scrawny man in the leg with lionness speed, digging her heel into his bullet wound forcing him to let go of her right arm and squeal. Hilde punched the other man in the crevice of his neck to temporarily knock out his air supply before he could do anything.
The braided woman turned toward them sharply in surprise, and Duo also made his move, high-kicking her in the back, which sent her flying towards Hilde, who prepared, high-kicked the woman in the stomach in mid- air sending her back towards the cabinet rows of files that fell to the ground in a domino effect. Duo sprinted toward the door, urgently grabbing Hilde's wrist to pull her after him in the process, and they bolted out the door down the corridor.
The woman struggled fiercely to shift herself upwards, and she grabbed her aching head, trying to register what had just occurred. The two of them found something; they had to of. Otherwise, why would they react that way. And both were extremely skilled and must have been soldiers in the eve wars, she guessed as she rubbed both her back and stomach where they had successfully injured her long enough for them to make their escape. She glanced over to the scrawny one, who was squealing and hopping on one leg toward the other man, who was just now recatching his breath. 'Maxwell & Schbieker Sweeper Incorporated. Maxwell. That name sounds familiar to me.' "Come on, you goons, after them!"
*~*
Duo barreled down the hall, braid flying and blind as a bat without the flashlights, with Hilde sprinting close behind. Gasping for air, the two picked a random hall and turned to find a possible escape out of the building, but the further they went, the more lost they became and the pitch darkness little helped their confusion. "Who were...those people?" Duo heard Hilde ask between trying to breath and trying not to run into anything as they came to a sudden stop to rest a bit.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I bet they have something to do with the 'supposed accidental explosion' in this building and with Middie Une and her family." Duo struggled to untangle the backpack he had used to carry the files they found from around his arm. Once he succeeded, he placed it on his back for convienence and then, a wild idea hit him like iron. "They were looking for something!"
Hilde placed her hand upon the bumpy texture of the wall to help feel herself around as well as support her overly-exhausted, dehydrated body. "What do you mean? Those files?"
"Has to be. Half of this building was destroyed, and it appears whoever was keeping Middie and her family captive probably wanted to destroy any evidence in a way that would appear to the public as an unexplained accident. Because she escaped! They were afraid she would say something to ruin whatever classified plans this company has been illegally performing." Duo's eyes widened. It did make some sense, even if it was rather assumptuous.
"Your right. If it was an experimental explosion that just got out of hand, then there would be victims, injured or dead. However, the SFPD has found nothing, no wounded, no corpses, nothing. Those three must have come back to get the files we found before the cops found them, most likely to destroy them. And now, they will know we have them when they find the files are missing." Hilde looked around and squinted her eyes down one hallway. "Is that light I see at the end of that hallway?"
Duo turned to where Hilde was pointed and nodded silently. "Yeah, but what's the source?" It could be anything, a small fire, a lamp, the cops, or worse, those three. And he didn't feel like just wandering up to either the cops or those three.
*~*
A shuttle rocked slightly back and forth as the wheels touched the ground of the airstrip in a rather reckless manner. The shuttle strode across the airstrip slowing down every second until it reached a stop. Three individuals stared expectantly as the door to the shuttle opened, transforming into a staircase.
Two young individuals with tousoled hair, one blonde and the other a dark brown, emerged from the shuttle within seconds and adjusting to the gravitational change, made their way to step once again upon the earth. The fresh, pure air played with the tips of their hair as the dark one nodded and the blonde smiled geniunely in greeting. "It's so good to see you again Miss Une, Miss Po, Wufei. Although, I wish this was just a reunion, and not a...situation."
Lady Une smiled weakly in her starched Preventer uniform as she reached out to shake the young Sandrock pilot's hand. "Don't we all, Quatre. Heero." She watched Heero nodd with a determined look on his face. He hadn't changed. "I suppose we have a lot to discuss. We have a car waiting for us in the front." Lady Une turned on her heel as she signaled everyone to follow.
Quatre watched as Heero strode quickly to Lady Une in front as Quatre lingered behind slowly with Wufei and Sally. "It is good to see you, Quatre," he heard Sally softly whisper as they made their way to a brand new black jaguar, the Preventer standard vehicle. "Things aren't looking too good, Quatre. We recieved a message the other day from the Vice Foriegn Minister Darlian's personal assistant that the top officials of ESUN have found a connection with the disappearances and are already assuming the worst."
Quatre furrowed his eyes in contemplation. He knew they would find out sooner or later. To much disbelief, the world and colonial officials are much smarter and more resourceful to get what they need than most people think. "Biological warfare. They must be giving Miss Relena a hard time about it. It will be interesting to see how she resolves the issue, if she can, but I will help her as leader of the Winner Estate. By the way, when did she get an assistant?"
"A few months back, an old acquaintance, Miss Dorothy Catalonia, decided to put Miss Relena in her place and demanded she get an assistant to relieve her workload. Miss Relena, of course, resisted for a long time, but Miss Catalonia was so persistent, Miss Relena finally gave in to save herself from a lot of headaches. And ever since then, Miss Catalonia has been by her side," Sally paused to watch as Quatre's eyes ever so subtlely clouded over at the mention of Dorothy's name. The simple mention of her name made his entire body go numb. After the first eve war ended, Trowa had briefly mentioned the incident that happened between Quatre and Dorothy on Libra to her and Wufei. Only Trowa and Sally understood what happened between the two that day, though it was so unexplainable. "Miss Relena was assigned by the President to research the situation with a group of Preventers of her choice. She and Miss Dorothy have already decided to keep as much information from ESUN as necessary and as for the team of preventers, she has left that decision up to Lady Une."
Quatre's emerald eyes shimmered as he smiled at the thought. He knew just who would be making up that team, but at the same time it frightened him. No, he pushed that issue aside. "So, Miss Relena and Heero will be reunited again after all. It's about time!"
Wufei watched bewildered as the other two exchanged knowing glances, but he shook it aside. He really didn't care what Quatre meant by that anyway. Heero was his own man and all of his actions were done on his own accord. The three finally reached the car to find Lady Une and Heero still talking on either side of the car, ready to get in. Once they saw Sally, Quatre, and Wufei, Lady Une started the engine as Heero took his place in the passenger's seat.
Wufei opened the back car door for Sally and the simple gesture made Sally smile. She quickly climbed in to avoid anyone from seeing the sudden color of her cheeks. "By the way, Quatre," Wufei started before he followed Sally in, "You ought to fire your pilot when you get the chance."
A confused expression wrote itself across Quatre's face. "Huh! Why?"
"That landing was a little too reckless in my opinion. Looks like your pilot was drunk from where I was standing." Wufei entered the vehicle without another word.
Quatre's eyes widened for a second in surprise, then shined with amusement and gave a small chuckle. He'd tell Wufei later that the 'drunk pilot', who was just letting off a little steam over a 'certain situation', was Heero.
*~*
Duo and Hilde stood still contemplating whether or not to take the hallway that led to some light and possibly something else or to keep wandering around in complete darkness. Even if it wasn't anything, if the enemy ends up coming this way, they would most likely go down the lighted hallway, believing that anyone who is being chased in complete darkness would head toward the nearest light source. That was definitely a bad choice, but the light was still so much more inviting than the other choice.
A sudden thundering of footsteps pounding into the ground jerked the two from their reverie to face down the hall they had just ran down. Both quickly looked to each other for an answer, then back to each of their choices. Then, Duo grabbed Hilde's sore wrist again, "Decision made," and they forced their bodies to sprint once more down the hallway that led to the light source. What difference did it make now.
The two dashed for their lives as the adrenaline rushed to their heads. Closer and closer, yet it lingered ever farther, and it felt as if they would never make it before their bodies collapsed, and the pounding behind them was closing in fast. How the hell was the guy who he had shot earlier catching up to them, much less running at all? Heavy breathing sounded and Duo and Hilde could feel their hearts beating so fast, it felt like they would explode any second. Was this chase ever going to end? They finally reached it after about five minutes of full out sprinting, and the light bathed their bodies and blinded their eyes for a few seconds. Then a sudden halt and a suppressed scream.
Duo and Hilde couldn't believe their eyes and were in too much of a shock to remember the three were still closing in on them. It was the weirdest thing Duo had ever seen, and the most inconvienent thing for their situation. 'Dammit. Not good!'
Duo and Hilde looked down where the hallway ended due to a collapse of the building. A huge hole was blown away from the inside that split the building in two. It was several hundred feet deep, and the rest of the hallway continued about fifteen feet away on the other side. Definitely not short enough to jump across, and the bottom was filled of darkness, so there was no telling how it extended. Jumping down was certainly not an option either. Duo backed Hilde away, feeling completely uncomfortable with her being so close to the edge.
"Well, well, it looks like this is the end of the line for you two," at the sound of that braided woman's eerie tone, Duo and Hilde jolted around. "You have something we want."
'Shit!' Duo had mentally forgot why they were running when he saw the gapping hole behind them. 'Now what?' He was completely at a loss. How was he going to get Hilde out of this mess safely? There were just no options left. "I don't know what you are talking about." Duo kept a protective arm around Hilde's waist to keep her from subconciously moving backward as they approached. He had to keep her away from that ledge.
"Don't play games with us. If you want to live, you will realize you are not in a position to get out of here alive if you retaliate, and you should give us what we want. So do you want to live or die? Either way, we get those files, so don't be foolish."
Duo was now wishing beyond everything that he had gone against his better judgement and taken Hilde down the oblivion of darkness instead of this lightened hallway. If they got out of this alive, he promised he would never let Hilde do anything like this again with or without him. He almost lost her once, and that tore every fiber of who he was when he saw her strolled away on that medical table. He didn't want to ever risk losing her again, and yet, here they were.
The impatient woman, not satisfied with Duo's lack of response, signaled the two men to collect the backpack Duo was carrying. The two men approached, making Hilde want to back up allow she soon found she couldn't, and then attacked without a second's notice with gruesome tactics. The quiet one landed a hard blow up towards Duo's chin swinging his head back a bit, forcing him to release his grip on Hilde, who was thrown across the floor toward the other woman.
Hilde forced herself from the floor after she finished rolling and tried to lunge toward the two men to help even the odds for Duo. However, as she was about to leap into the air from her crouched position, the braided woman spun to impact her knee into Hilde's neck, almost breaking it, but only throwing her across the floor again. Hilde recovered slowly from the deadly blow as she coughed up some blood and struggled to breath. The woman came after her again not satisfied with Hilde's poor condition. Hilde, still on the floor forced both of her legs up to catch the woman in mid air who tried to throw herself upon Hilde. Then, with all her might, she pushed her legs out to fling the woman behind her down the hall. The woman landed in an awkward position and grabbed her shoulder as she struggled up again.
"Hilde!" Duo yelled as he saw her caught in a fight with that wretched woman, but he had his own problems too. If he could just get away from these men long enough to save Hilde. However, the two men were relentless upon claiming his backpack as they hit his already weak body. Punch after punch. The scrawny one sent his hand flying toward Duo, but Duo blocked it and with a swift flick of his hand, displaced the man's wrist in an abnormal position. The scrawny one wailed in pain as the quiet one somehow managed to kick Duo in the ribs, which sent him skidding across the floor toward the edge. 'Too close!' Duo rolled one his back in a rocking position to fling his legs up, forcing the rest of his body to fly in mid air and land on his feet.
The silent one was after him again. Duo blocked a few kicks and threw a few, blocked a few punches and threw a few, but neither man touched the other. Duo did a backflip to avoid a spin kick and saw the scrawny one coming after him as he did so. He turned to rotate his leg toward the man's stomach to avoid from losing the backpack and hit a clean shot. The man flew backwards and the quiet one jumped on Duo's back tugging on the backpack. Duo turned back and rammed into the wall several times in an attempt to dismantel the guy on his back. The man lost his grip around Duo's neck and plumated to the ground, but grabbed the backpack that was still around Duo's shoulders, so it forced him to land not so gracefully on his rear end. Duo gripped the backpack and tried to wrestle it away from him.
Hilde jumped in the air to avoid the braided woman's low kick aimed at her knees. As she landed, she ran back a ways to set a footlock upon the ground. The woman plunged at her, and Hilde pushed off her back foot to spring herself at the woman. She landed on the woman's left knee and jumped off just as quickly to spin herself in the air and kick the woman in the head. The woman fell to the ground by the impact and remained motionless.
Hilde cautiously walked toward the woman to check if she had successfully disabled her, but much to her disliking, the woman grabbed Hilde's foot and pulled it, making Hilde fall to the floor with a thud.
Duo found himself rolling on the floor with the quiet man'd hands clutching Duo's neck, suffocating him. Duo tried to grind his hands into the other mans to force the man to losen his grip on Duo's neck, but to no avail, and they were getting closer and closer to that damn ledge. Duo growled in exasperation as the scrawny one tried to jam his hand into the wall to reposition his hand. He only succeeded in furthering its dislocation.
The quiet one managed to roll Duo's head of the edge so he dangled in the air, which made Duo not only concentrate on getting that bloody hand from choking off the rest of his air supply, but also to keep his head up so they both wouldn't plummet to the bottom. Duo finally puched the man square in the face, which released his grip on Duo's neck. Catching his breath, Duo kicked the oncoming scrawny man again. However, in the process, the quiet one recovered with his aching jaw, spun around and landed his foot in Duo's ribs sending him backwards into the air.
Time stood still as his eyes widened from the surprise and then traveled toward Hilde's, who at that moment decided to look toward him as she kicked the other woman away. He saw the shocked look in those lovely eyes of hers as he registered what was happening. There was nothing he could do, and everything was happening in slow motion to him.
Hilde had kicked the woman into the wall when she turned to see Duo kicked into the air by the quiet man. Her heart skipped a few beats in that instant as she saw Duo plummet off the edge of the floor. She couldn't think, couldn't react. She was stuck, struck at what she saw. She looked into Duo's fearless eyes as tears welled up into her own. In that moment, she sprinted toward him and reached out in an attempt to catch him, but she just couldn't reach. He was just too far. "DU-U-U-O-O-O-O-O! NOOO-O-O-O-O!" She choked up the sobs in her throat as she watched the man she loved with all her heart disappear into the darkness of the abyss below. She screamed his name again. "DUO-O-O-O-O-o-o-o-o-o-!!!"
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AN: Oh, cliffhanger! Please, don't shoot me. *on knees, begging* My sister has already threatened me with a knife, literally. *cringes at the memory* I am probably going to get a lump of coal for Christmas for doing this...from my sister at least. Yeek. So there is the much awaited Chapter 5...and Chapter 6 is already on the way! YAY! But what has happened to our poor Duo? What will Hilde do when she registers what just happened?
Is this the end? To find out, you will have to read the next chapter, which I promise will be out by Christmas weekend! I promise!!!
Of course, finals are this week coming up, so I will be lucky if I even get chapter five written by this Friday, then there is christmas shopping, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is coming out! YAY! Plus, a whole lot of napping after I get out for the semester. I haven't really slept in weeks, and I have been writing like crazy, instead of studying. Bad Wolfcry...bad. *slaps hand* but hey, at least you all benefit from it. So, Merry Christmas to all, Happy Hanuka, & Happy Holidays to all!
by: WolfCry17
Disclaimer: I do not own gundam wing.
AN: Sorry this took soo long! However, finals are just around the corner...so, I have been studying like mad! And, of course, tennis isn't in the least bit helpful. ;p Thanks again for the reviews! And don't worry, I have many plans for all our dear gundam couples, and it won't be just random show ups, I promise! I just love them all so much! I am even trying to work out a role for MarieMaya! We'll see how it goes. So here is chapter five *cheers*!
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Chapter 5 ~ The Chase
October 22, AC 197, Colony L2-C8923 Jefferson & Company Medical Research Facility
In the midst of a darkened hallway with ash littering the unstable floor, three lone shadows of figures appeared around a corner squabbling about something. "How did you manage to forget, amongst everything else, to grab the profiles of the eleven doctors when we were ordered to destroy any and all evidence?" The overly scrawny one of the three complained tirelessly toward the other two. They were all dressed in full black uniforms with each a gun ready on their hips for emergency. "Now, because of you incompetents, we are now forced to find those documents and discard them at once, and there are cops sprawled all around the place!"
The only female and the most built of any of them grumbled under her breath at the accusations directed toward her and her partner. Her hair was pulled up in a tight ponytail that was braided to her thigh and a scrowl reached her hard-fixed features. "Hey, get a few things straight, buddy," She pulled a knife to the man's throat almost simultaneouosly, "First off, we were told Officer Daniels was to take care of it, so fuss all you want at him, and secondly, don't forget that if it wasn't for your sorry ass, Une's daughter would never have escaped in the first place, and we wouldn't be on this mission. And thirdly, SHUT UP!" She removed the knife from the man's neck just as swiftly as she had placed it there, and then turned on her heel.
The scrawny one growled viciously under his breath as he tenderly rubbed his neck that contained his precious air supply and essentially his life when he couldn't counter the woman's venomous reponse. Silence soon encompassed the three as they cautiously made their way to a single door. Once they reached it, however, the shuffeling of paper and the silent whispers resonating from inside forced the three to draw their guns in suspicion. "What is that?" The three eyed each other intently as they reached for the doorknob.
*~*
"They were used as test subjects!"
Hilde's eyes widened suddenly as she met Duo's very startled cobalt blue eyes. "Test subjects for what?" Before her question was answered, the eerie stillness was abrubtly broken with a sudden racket of the only door as the knob was vigorously turned. Hilde gasped as the air in her throat caught when Duo pulled her to the ground beside him. He quickly stuffed the portfolios into a small black bag as the door finally creaked open with three sets of footsteps, or as Duo figured.
Duo turned back toward Hilde and signaled for her to follow him behind the desk as the light from the intruders' own flashlight headed their way. Hilde followed him as quickly as she could to avoid from being seen and then copied Duo as he leaned against the side of the desk and cocked his gun.
The female with a braided ponytail shined her flashlight in the direction of where she thought she heard a gun being cocked. As she found the desk, she caught a glimpse of a small foot as it disappeared on the other side of the desk. The woman signaled the two men toward the desk as she proceeded toward it with her gun pointed in front of her. The two men nodded and followed in pursuit. The woman kneeled down to the floor and crawled quietly to the side where she saw the foot disappear as the two men continued upright.
Duo placed his ear against the desk to guess where the three 'men' were, but strangely found he lost a set of footsteps if there were three in the first place at all. He shrugged it off reluctantly, guessing he just miscalculated. He wasn't the great Heero Yuy after all. He prepared to fire and signaled to Hilde once again as he raised one finger, then two, then... three! Duo and Hilde immediately shot up from their momentary cover behind the desk and suddenly got caught in cross fire in the dark.
Through the curtain of darkness, Duo found two shadows dive behind a few rows of cabinets to avoid from being pierced by incoming bullets. 'There ARE only two!' Duo affirmed silently to himself as he suddenly ducked to also avoid backfire and switched guns in the process. 'Yet, something doesn't smell right.' He watched Hilde duck herself, but just as instantly rose again to fire in the direction toward the file cabinets. Duo took another breath to steady himself and quickly followed suit.
Suddenly, Duo found his chance and fired swiftly to increase his accuracy. The bullet sped and sliced through the air until it pierced through thick fabric of black leather to feast upon the tender flesh below. The tall, scrawny man grabbed his blood-painted leg and growling, bit his lip to suppress a scream as water poured from the bottom lids of his eyes. He staggered helplessly and leaned against the cabinets as the other man, who had remained quiet throughout the day, cautiously moved toward him.
"What happened?"
"DAMN SON OF A BITCH SHOT ME!" the scrawny one seethed through his teeth, trying to keep whatever scream lay within him from coming out.
Duo smirked in achievement as he ducked again to reload his two guns.
Meanwhile, the braided woman, who had managed to remain unnoticed by either Duo or Hilde, slowly rounded the desk when she heard the small growl from the man who had been previously scolding her about half an hour ago. She rolled her eyes in irritation at the cowardly man's incompetence. She decided to claim this chance to make her move.
Hilde leaned against the desk and wiped the sweat from her forehead that had collected as she fumbled with a few bullets in an attempt to reload her gun. The sweat that filled the palms of her hands allowed her no success. Suddenly, she felt her body stiffen almost subconsciously as she felt the smooth, cold metal of the barrel of a gun caress her neck. She slightly shivered upon its embrace and followed the gun to the owner, a female with raven black hair pulled back tightly. As Hilde recovered from her initial shock, she glared deathly towards the woman who now held her life.
The woman looked toward her prey and smirked evilly with a conquering eye. "That's enough! Don't waste any more bullets, or one will be wasted on her."
Upon hearing the husky female voice, Duo stiffened in defeat as no more shots were fired. 'So there WERE THREE of them, after all.' Duo cursed himself for not being more alert as he looked toward Hilde's captor and lowered his weapons to the floor. He then glanced down to Hilde's steady, fearless gaze, that same gaze she had the day she escaped from the battleship libra, desperate to get to him. He had called her a stupid and foolish woman that day, and her only response was a single, all-knowing smile. He never meant it. He never once thought that of her. He was only angry that day for her selfless actions and that they could have cost her, her life. She stood just as stubborn and strong now as she did that day, and god, how he loved her for it. She spoke to him through those goddess- like eyes of hers, showing him that she completely trusted him.
Duo's gaze was abrubtly brought back to the reality of the situation when the braided, raven-headed woman broke the silence. "Okay, now tell me who you are and what you are doing here." The two men walked, the scrawny one limping, over and grabbed each of Hilde's arms roughly as the woman approached Duo.
Duo caught Hilde's eye again and smirked to the woman before him. "Oh, we were just hired on the job as sweepers from the Maxwell & Schbieker Sweeper Incorporation. We're here on behalf of the Space Force Police Department. Now, my question is WHO are YOU and why are you holding us hostage?"
The woman growled as she moved in to slap Duo across the face with a hard blow. Duo's head flew to his right from the impact. "You are our prisoners, and we shall ask the questions here, buddy. You can start by answering my question with no more lies."
Duo rubbed his throbbing cheek as he craned his neck to recover from the sudden blow. "I don't know what you mean. I've told you nothing, but the truth, pal."
The woman rose her hand once more, but halted in mid-air. "You lie. The SFPD never contacts any sweeper organization until they have fully investigated the situation. Everybody knows that. Your sweeper jumpsuits are real enough, so I am guessing you used your job status to sneak into this building to investigate on your own. Therefore, you must be connected somehow with the Preventers, especially since the SFPD is at the moment searching for two intruders claiming to be sweeper agents. I can only assume that means the two of you."
Hilde's eyes widened noticably at the blow of their cover and quickly reacted. She kicked the scrawny man in the leg with lionness speed, digging her heel into his bullet wound forcing him to let go of her right arm and squeal. Hilde punched the other man in the crevice of his neck to temporarily knock out his air supply before he could do anything.
The braided woman turned toward them sharply in surprise, and Duo also made his move, high-kicking her in the back, which sent her flying towards Hilde, who prepared, high-kicked the woman in the stomach in mid- air sending her back towards the cabinet rows of files that fell to the ground in a domino effect. Duo sprinted toward the door, urgently grabbing Hilde's wrist to pull her after him in the process, and they bolted out the door down the corridor.
The woman struggled fiercely to shift herself upwards, and she grabbed her aching head, trying to register what had just occurred. The two of them found something; they had to of. Otherwise, why would they react that way. And both were extremely skilled and must have been soldiers in the eve wars, she guessed as she rubbed both her back and stomach where they had successfully injured her long enough for them to make their escape. She glanced over to the scrawny one, who was squealing and hopping on one leg toward the other man, who was just now recatching his breath. 'Maxwell & Schbieker Sweeper Incorporated. Maxwell. That name sounds familiar to me.' "Come on, you goons, after them!"
*~*
Duo barreled down the hall, braid flying and blind as a bat without the flashlights, with Hilde sprinting close behind. Gasping for air, the two picked a random hall and turned to find a possible escape out of the building, but the further they went, the more lost they became and the pitch darkness little helped their confusion. "Who were...those people?" Duo heard Hilde ask between trying to breath and trying not to run into anything as they came to a sudden stop to rest a bit.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I bet they have something to do with the 'supposed accidental explosion' in this building and with Middie Une and her family." Duo struggled to untangle the backpack he had used to carry the files they found from around his arm. Once he succeeded, he placed it on his back for convienence and then, a wild idea hit him like iron. "They were looking for something!"
Hilde placed her hand upon the bumpy texture of the wall to help feel herself around as well as support her overly-exhausted, dehydrated body. "What do you mean? Those files?"
"Has to be. Half of this building was destroyed, and it appears whoever was keeping Middie and her family captive probably wanted to destroy any evidence in a way that would appear to the public as an unexplained accident. Because she escaped! They were afraid she would say something to ruin whatever classified plans this company has been illegally performing." Duo's eyes widened. It did make some sense, even if it was rather assumptuous.
"Your right. If it was an experimental explosion that just got out of hand, then there would be victims, injured or dead. However, the SFPD has found nothing, no wounded, no corpses, nothing. Those three must have come back to get the files we found before the cops found them, most likely to destroy them. And now, they will know we have them when they find the files are missing." Hilde looked around and squinted her eyes down one hallway. "Is that light I see at the end of that hallway?"
Duo turned to where Hilde was pointed and nodded silently. "Yeah, but what's the source?" It could be anything, a small fire, a lamp, the cops, or worse, those three. And he didn't feel like just wandering up to either the cops or those three.
*~*
A shuttle rocked slightly back and forth as the wheels touched the ground of the airstrip in a rather reckless manner. The shuttle strode across the airstrip slowing down every second until it reached a stop. Three individuals stared expectantly as the door to the shuttle opened, transforming into a staircase.
Two young individuals with tousoled hair, one blonde and the other a dark brown, emerged from the shuttle within seconds and adjusting to the gravitational change, made their way to step once again upon the earth. The fresh, pure air played with the tips of their hair as the dark one nodded and the blonde smiled geniunely in greeting. "It's so good to see you again Miss Une, Miss Po, Wufei. Although, I wish this was just a reunion, and not a...situation."
Lady Une smiled weakly in her starched Preventer uniform as she reached out to shake the young Sandrock pilot's hand. "Don't we all, Quatre. Heero." She watched Heero nodd with a determined look on his face. He hadn't changed. "I suppose we have a lot to discuss. We have a car waiting for us in the front." Lady Une turned on her heel as she signaled everyone to follow.
Quatre watched as Heero strode quickly to Lady Une in front as Quatre lingered behind slowly with Wufei and Sally. "It is good to see you, Quatre," he heard Sally softly whisper as they made their way to a brand new black jaguar, the Preventer standard vehicle. "Things aren't looking too good, Quatre. We recieved a message the other day from the Vice Foriegn Minister Darlian's personal assistant that the top officials of ESUN have found a connection with the disappearances and are already assuming the worst."
Quatre furrowed his eyes in contemplation. He knew they would find out sooner or later. To much disbelief, the world and colonial officials are much smarter and more resourceful to get what they need than most people think. "Biological warfare. They must be giving Miss Relena a hard time about it. It will be interesting to see how she resolves the issue, if she can, but I will help her as leader of the Winner Estate. By the way, when did she get an assistant?"
"A few months back, an old acquaintance, Miss Dorothy Catalonia, decided to put Miss Relena in her place and demanded she get an assistant to relieve her workload. Miss Relena, of course, resisted for a long time, but Miss Catalonia was so persistent, Miss Relena finally gave in to save herself from a lot of headaches. And ever since then, Miss Catalonia has been by her side," Sally paused to watch as Quatre's eyes ever so subtlely clouded over at the mention of Dorothy's name. The simple mention of her name made his entire body go numb. After the first eve war ended, Trowa had briefly mentioned the incident that happened between Quatre and Dorothy on Libra to her and Wufei. Only Trowa and Sally understood what happened between the two that day, though it was so unexplainable. "Miss Relena was assigned by the President to research the situation with a group of Preventers of her choice. She and Miss Dorothy have already decided to keep as much information from ESUN as necessary and as for the team of preventers, she has left that decision up to Lady Une."
Quatre's emerald eyes shimmered as he smiled at the thought. He knew just who would be making up that team, but at the same time it frightened him. No, he pushed that issue aside. "So, Miss Relena and Heero will be reunited again after all. It's about time!"
Wufei watched bewildered as the other two exchanged knowing glances, but he shook it aside. He really didn't care what Quatre meant by that anyway. Heero was his own man and all of his actions were done on his own accord. The three finally reached the car to find Lady Une and Heero still talking on either side of the car, ready to get in. Once they saw Sally, Quatre, and Wufei, Lady Une started the engine as Heero took his place in the passenger's seat.
Wufei opened the back car door for Sally and the simple gesture made Sally smile. She quickly climbed in to avoid anyone from seeing the sudden color of her cheeks. "By the way, Quatre," Wufei started before he followed Sally in, "You ought to fire your pilot when you get the chance."
A confused expression wrote itself across Quatre's face. "Huh! Why?"
"That landing was a little too reckless in my opinion. Looks like your pilot was drunk from where I was standing." Wufei entered the vehicle without another word.
Quatre's eyes widened for a second in surprise, then shined with amusement and gave a small chuckle. He'd tell Wufei later that the 'drunk pilot', who was just letting off a little steam over a 'certain situation', was Heero.
*~*
Duo and Hilde stood still contemplating whether or not to take the hallway that led to some light and possibly something else or to keep wandering around in complete darkness. Even if it wasn't anything, if the enemy ends up coming this way, they would most likely go down the lighted hallway, believing that anyone who is being chased in complete darkness would head toward the nearest light source. That was definitely a bad choice, but the light was still so much more inviting than the other choice.
A sudden thundering of footsteps pounding into the ground jerked the two from their reverie to face down the hall they had just ran down. Both quickly looked to each other for an answer, then back to each of their choices. Then, Duo grabbed Hilde's sore wrist again, "Decision made," and they forced their bodies to sprint once more down the hallway that led to the light source. What difference did it make now.
The two dashed for their lives as the adrenaline rushed to their heads. Closer and closer, yet it lingered ever farther, and it felt as if they would never make it before their bodies collapsed, and the pounding behind them was closing in fast. How the hell was the guy who he had shot earlier catching up to them, much less running at all? Heavy breathing sounded and Duo and Hilde could feel their hearts beating so fast, it felt like they would explode any second. Was this chase ever going to end? They finally reached it after about five minutes of full out sprinting, and the light bathed their bodies and blinded their eyes for a few seconds. Then a sudden halt and a suppressed scream.
Duo and Hilde couldn't believe their eyes and were in too much of a shock to remember the three were still closing in on them. It was the weirdest thing Duo had ever seen, and the most inconvienent thing for their situation. 'Dammit. Not good!'
Duo and Hilde looked down where the hallway ended due to a collapse of the building. A huge hole was blown away from the inside that split the building in two. It was several hundred feet deep, and the rest of the hallway continued about fifteen feet away on the other side. Definitely not short enough to jump across, and the bottom was filled of darkness, so there was no telling how it extended. Jumping down was certainly not an option either. Duo backed Hilde away, feeling completely uncomfortable with her being so close to the edge.
"Well, well, it looks like this is the end of the line for you two," at the sound of that braided woman's eerie tone, Duo and Hilde jolted around. "You have something we want."
'Shit!' Duo had mentally forgot why they were running when he saw the gapping hole behind them. 'Now what?' He was completely at a loss. How was he going to get Hilde out of this mess safely? There were just no options left. "I don't know what you are talking about." Duo kept a protective arm around Hilde's waist to keep her from subconciously moving backward as they approached. He had to keep her away from that ledge.
"Don't play games with us. If you want to live, you will realize you are not in a position to get out of here alive if you retaliate, and you should give us what we want. So do you want to live or die? Either way, we get those files, so don't be foolish."
Duo was now wishing beyond everything that he had gone against his better judgement and taken Hilde down the oblivion of darkness instead of this lightened hallway. If they got out of this alive, he promised he would never let Hilde do anything like this again with or without him. He almost lost her once, and that tore every fiber of who he was when he saw her strolled away on that medical table. He didn't want to ever risk losing her again, and yet, here they were.
The impatient woman, not satisfied with Duo's lack of response, signaled the two men to collect the backpack Duo was carrying. The two men approached, making Hilde want to back up allow she soon found she couldn't, and then attacked without a second's notice with gruesome tactics. The quiet one landed a hard blow up towards Duo's chin swinging his head back a bit, forcing him to release his grip on Hilde, who was thrown across the floor toward the other woman.
Hilde forced herself from the floor after she finished rolling and tried to lunge toward the two men to help even the odds for Duo. However, as she was about to leap into the air from her crouched position, the braided woman spun to impact her knee into Hilde's neck, almost breaking it, but only throwing her across the floor again. Hilde recovered slowly from the deadly blow as she coughed up some blood and struggled to breath. The woman came after her again not satisfied with Hilde's poor condition. Hilde, still on the floor forced both of her legs up to catch the woman in mid air who tried to throw herself upon Hilde. Then, with all her might, she pushed her legs out to fling the woman behind her down the hall. The woman landed in an awkward position and grabbed her shoulder as she struggled up again.
"Hilde!" Duo yelled as he saw her caught in a fight with that wretched woman, but he had his own problems too. If he could just get away from these men long enough to save Hilde. However, the two men were relentless upon claiming his backpack as they hit his already weak body. Punch after punch. The scrawny one sent his hand flying toward Duo, but Duo blocked it and with a swift flick of his hand, displaced the man's wrist in an abnormal position. The scrawny one wailed in pain as the quiet one somehow managed to kick Duo in the ribs, which sent him skidding across the floor toward the edge. 'Too close!' Duo rolled one his back in a rocking position to fling his legs up, forcing the rest of his body to fly in mid air and land on his feet.
The silent one was after him again. Duo blocked a few kicks and threw a few, blocked a few punches and threw a few, but neither man touched the other. Duo did a backflip to avoid a spin kick and saw the scrawny one coming after him as he did so. He turned to rotate his leg toward the man's stomach to avoid from losing the backpack and hit a clean shot. The man flew backwards and the quiet one jumped on Duo's back tugging on the backpack. Duo turned back and rammed into the wall several times in an attempt to dismantel the guy on his back. The man lost his grip around Duo's neck and plumated to the ground, but grabbed the backpack that was still around Duo's shoulders, so it forced him to land not so gracefully on his rear end. Duo gripped the backpack and tried to wrestle it away from him.
Hilde jumped in the air to avoid the braided woman's low kick aimed at her knees. As she landed, she ran back a ways to set a footlock upon the ground. The woman plunged at her, and Hilde pushed off her back foot to spring herself at the woman. She landed on the woman's left knee and jumped off just as quickly to spin herself in the air and kick the woman in the head. The woman fell to the ground by the impact and remained motionless.
Hilde cautiously walked toward the woman to check if she had successfully disabled her, but much to her disliking, the woman grabbed Hilde's foot and pulled it, making Hilde fall to the floor with a thud.
Duo found himself rolling on the floor with the quiet man'd hands clutching Duo's neck, suffocating him. Duo tried to grind his hands into the other mans to force the man to losen his grip on Duo's neck, but to no avail, and they were getting closer and closer to that damn ledge. Duo growled in exasperation as the scrawny one tried to jam his hand into the wall to reposition his hand. He only succeeded in furthering its dislocation.
The quiet one managed to roll Duo's head of the edge so he dangled in the air, which made Duo not only concentrate on getting that bloody hand from choking off the rest of his air supply, but also to keep his head up so they both wouldn't plummet to the bottom. Duo finally puched the man square in the face, which released his grip on Duo's neck. Catching his breath, Duo kicked the oncoming scrawny man again. However, in the process, the quiet one recovered with his aching jaw, spun around and landed his foot in Duo's ribs sending him backwards into the air.
Time stood still as his eyes widened from the surprise and then traveled toward Hilde's, who at that moment decided to look toward him as she kicked the other woman away. He saw the shocked look in those lovely eyes of hers as he registered what was happening. There was nothing he could do, and everything was happening in slow motion to him.
Hilde had kicked the woman into the wall when she turned to see Duo kicked into the air by the quiet man. Her heart skipped a few beats in that instant as she saw Duo plummet off the edge of the floor. She couldn't think, couldn't react. She was stuck, struck at what she saw. She looked into Duo's fearless eyes as tears welled up into her own. In that moment, she sprinted toward him and reached out in an attempt to catch him, but she just couldn't reach. He was just too far. "DU-U-U-O-O-O-O-O! NOOO-O-O-O-O!" She choked up the sobs in her throat as she watched the man she loved with all her heart disappear into the darkness of the abyss below. She screamed his name again. "DUO-O-O-O-O-o-o-o-o-o-!!!"
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AN: Oh, cliffhanger! Please, don't shoot me. *on knees, begging* My sister has already threatened me with a knife, literally. *cringes at the memory* I am probably going to get a lump of coal for Christmas for doing this...from my sister at least. Yeek. So there is the much awaited Chapter 5...and Chapter 6 is already on the way! YAY! But what has happened to our poor Duo? What will Hilde do when she registers what just happened?
Is this the end? To find out, you will have to read the next chapter, which I promise will be out by Christmas weekend! I promise!!!
Of course, finals are this week coming up, so I will be lucky if I even get chapter five written by this Friday, then there is christmas shopping, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is coming out! YAY! Plus, a whole lot of napping after I get out for the semester. I haven't really slept in weeks, and I have been writing like crazy, instead of studying. Bad Wolfcry...bad. *slaps hand* but hey, at least you all benefit from it. So, Merry Christmas to all, Happy Hanuka, & Happy Holidays to all!