Down the Rabbit Hole
"Take you with me?" Eve said slowly, a hint of respect in her voice as she looked calmly at the older woman who'd she come to respect despite her taste in men. Noin was just full of surprises it would seem. "Very brave of you. I've seen and heard the tape you guys have of me. I know you've seen it as well so you know how easily I can and will take a life. You know what I'm capable of, Noin. Many people would say that I make Heero seem like a fkin saint in comparison. How do you know I'll behave if I take you with me? For all you know I'll simply take you to some deserted area and make sure that no one ever sees you alive again. Or even your body for that matter." Eve said deliberately moving her gun so that one of the searchlights made it gleam momentarily in the darkness, emphasizing her point. "I can see you perfectly right now. Shooting you would be as easy as shooting a fish in a barrel the size of a basketball. Are you really sure you can trust me to deliver you safely to your answers? You know about Darius and his involvement, that's reason enough to kill you. Why should you believe anything I say or me you?"
"Just my belief that you're in this to help me, not harm me, Eve." Noin said calmly as she stared back with a confidence she wasn't feeling. Her head was telling her to run like the demons of hell were after her but her instincts were saying to take this risk. Either way she figured this night was just going to keep getting worse.
)
Watching Eve closely another piece fell into place as Noin remembered some data she'd read and a fact that had been nagging her. Thinking it through she finally figured out what it was about the Angel boy that had bothered her. He'd reminded her of someone but now it fell into place perfectly including why the boy was most likely the other Hanta with them. Angel was another of the victims only he was supposed to have died in the first week. But Eve wasn't the type to let that happen, Noin thought as she looked at Eve with new eyes as an idea occurred to her. "J.C. Angel. Would the J.C. stand for Joseph Christian by any chance? And last time I checked Tenchi also means Angel in another language. That's why he knew so much about the experiments and that's why he reminded me of your brother Gabriel in the way he smiled. J.C. Angel is your little brother, he didn't die from the experiments and he's a hanta, just like you. Or at least they tried to make him one."
"Too smart...far too smart for your own damn good." Eve said, her tone deadly as her eyes seemed to glow even more in the darkness. Bringing up family was a good way to get her attention and was also a deadly move. People who learned about her baby brother didn't live long. She'd do anything and she did mean anything to protect Joseph. Her only family that she had left now. She'd failed to protect him once but never again. Not so long as she lived. "You've just stepped into quicksand bringing him into it, Noin. Lets see if it was worth the risk. Follow me, if you still think you can and I'll take you to the answers you seek." Without bothering to wait for an answer Eve turned on her heels and walked the way the other two had left. With a deep breathe Eve was followed shortly by Noin who prayed that she wasn't making a big mistake. A deadly mistake.
)
"Milliardo?" Sally said as she lightly shook him on the shoulder after she propped him up against a desk. Lightly patting him on the cheek she was relieved to see his eyelashes flicker and seconds later his eyes opened, blinking at the sudden light. He looked pale but as a whole he was alive and well. Being able to say that after dealing with hantas was a big deal. "Welcome back to the world of the conscious."
"Sally?" Milliardo said staring up at her as his eyes began to focus as he blinked rapidly. Looking around he saw that he was sitting on the floor with his back pressed up against a desk and he currently had the mother of all headaches. Damn, this couldn't possibly be good. "What the hell happened?"
"Our prisoner escaped custody, Commander. But the good news is as far as I know they didn't kill anyone to do it." Sally said with a ironic smirk on her face as she held out her hand and helped him to his feet. "You guys were lucky, it was a non toxic gas. You guys should be all right in a couple of hours aside from the killer headaches. I would recommend that you go home early and sleep the effects off but knowing you guys you won't do that much less lower yourself to take some aspirin."
"Damnit it to hell." Milliardo said as he stood alone on shaky feet, feeling his stomach roll in protest. "Relena?" he said turning his to where his sister had been, sighing with relief when he saw her safe in her husband's arms and wide awake though she was looking a little pale as Heero rubbed her back. "Any causalities in the escape?"
"No, they shot to wound and not kill. Over a dozen of our men will be out of commission for a while but they'll all be just fine in a few days." Sally said with a relieved smile. "We were lucky, what they aimed at they hit, we could have had a lot of casualties. They knocked out all the lighting and we can safely say that there are at least three hantas alive at the moment. Two males came in and saved her." Sally added as she looked over to see Duo's head move ever so slightly. "Looks like Maxwell's coming around too, good thing he landed on his head, we don't have to worry about him damaging any part of that thick skull."
)
"Looks like you were right, Heero." Wufei said as he reentered the room, his headache only slightly less then the others. When Heero had recognized and named the gas Wufei had been able to get the door open before collapsing, allowing him to alert the outside guards and limit his exposure to the gas's purpose. "We underestimated her." He admitted looking into the empty holding room. It was hard to admit it but that woman was as far from weak as a person could get. She was proving to be a truly interesting opponent as well as one big pain in the ass. What he wanted to know was how the others had been alerted to her circumstances. Plus where Trowa had been when the breaking out had been accomplished. He would bet a great deal that Trowa hadn't been part of this but there was always that slight chance that shouldn't be ignored. Even when you wanted to.
"Well at least now we have a better idea of what we're up against. There are at least three of them in the area and odds are they're pissed right about now." Heero said softly as he held his wife a bit tighter against him. The gas could have just as easily have been poisonous, they could all be dead now and all it would have taken was seconds. Understanding Relena turned around in Heero's arms and laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her still weak arms around his waist in silent comfort. She knew that he hated to ever be out of control of a situation and she knew that he above all else understood the people they were dealing with.
"Where's Noin?" Milliardo demanded, noticing for the first time that his own wife wasn't in the room. He knew she was in the building so why wasn't she here? He could have been killed so why wasn't she here worrying about him?
"We don't know." Sally said softly as she tried to smile though she was getting more then a little worried herself. Noin hadn't checked in with anyone in over twenty minutes and no one seemed to be able to find her anywhere. "She was with several soldiers who went after them when we confirmed you were alive. The group was forced to split up and Noin hasn't come back yet. I'm sure she'll show up at any minute though."
"What!" Milliardo said feeling the blood drain from his face as the impact of her words hit him dead in the chest. Noin had gone after those monsters? No one knew where she was and if she was all right?
"I'm sure she's fine, Millliardo. She survived the war easily enough, I'm sure she's somewhere in the building on her way here as we speak." Sally said but there was a note of fear in her voice that gave her away. She hoped that her friend was all right but she had a sinking feeling that her friend wasn't going to be walking through the door anytime soon. Noin had been determined to catch them and when Noin was determined to do something..well she did it.
"I'm sure she's fine, Peacecraft." Heero said in a calm voice as he hugged Relena tighter in reflect to the idea of Noin being in danger. "I still think that they're on our side somehow though how exactly I have no idea. Trowa's involved in this and he's not a fool or a traitor, if he trusts them then he has a good reason to. They don't know that we've set a tail on Trowa or that we have as much information on them as we do. That means they still probably don't see us as a big enough threat that we're worth worry about. This isn't the first time one of us has come into contact with one of them where they're angry at us and we've yet to be harmed except for Duo's soldier and she could have done a hell of a lot worse. I'm willing to bet that they don't have any intention of causing us harm or at least not to an extreme. If she's with them they might have just taken her for insurance or to scare us into doing what they want us to do. A way of making us play by their rules."
"You better be right, Yuy. You're betting on Noin's life here." Milliardo said with a dark look as his mind turned to thoughts of all the people he'd lost over the years and how it would feel if he had to add his wife to the large group of people he'd had to bury. Losing her....there was no life in him without her.
)
"We're here." Eve said a half an hour later from the back seat of the car as they pulled into a long driveway. The driveway was well hidden and could be easily missed unless you were going really slow and looking for it. Noin stared straight ahead and ignored Eve for now as she watched a large mansion appear before them, surrounded by high iron gates and walls to keep people out. Coming to a stop in front of the gate Darius rolled down his window and spoke a few words to one of the guards in Chinese, a brief conversation taking place. Seconds later the gates opened and they drove up the long driveway, coming to a stop in front of the house's doors.
"We'll drop you two off and then report in." Darius said as he put the brake on stopping at the front entrance smoothly. "Okay with you, Eve?" he asked looking over at Eve, ignoring his former commander all together. He didn't like or want her here but Eve and Keyda were in charge, not him. He was pretty that they could trust Noin but they'd trusted the wrong people before with disastrous results.
"Fine." Eve said motioning for Noin to exit from her side. Following the instruction Noin got out of the car and moved around it to stand beside Eve. The two women watched the car drive away before they turned towards the front door of the house that was probably quite beautiful in the light. Eve had called ahead but Noin hadn't recognized the language they'd used but apparently she'd been given permission to visit. "If you do anything stupid you'll be dead before you can move so much as a foot. You do realize that, don't you?" Eve said turning her attention to Noin, giving the woman a look that said she thought Noin was being a complete idiot.
"I understand." Noin said with a short nod as she straightened her shoulders. If this was going to be the end she was going to meet it with shoulders straight and head held high like any true solider. "I take it we're expected?"
"Follow me." Eve said simply as she began walking up the steps with sure strides despite the lack of light. Not that she needed it, Noin thought with a smirk as she caught a glimpse of Eve's eyes when she turned to make sure of their surroundings. It was probably around two in the morning and Noin was sorely missing her bed right now but she forced herself to move on as she joined Eve at the door and followed her in. The inside of the house was only minimally lit and Noin kept her eyes on Eve as they walked out of the main stairway and headed for a side door where light was barely showing from under the door. Standing together in front of the door Eve turned back to look at Noin again. "Are you sure? Once you walk in there's no turning back for you."
"I'm sure." Noin said with a nod as she took a deep breath. "I want to know."
"Then welcome to your answers." Eve said pushing the door open and with another deep breath Noin followed her into the well-lit library. To her surprise Noin instantly recognized the young woman who sat waiting for them without expression on her lovely face even though it had been years since they'd seen each other last.
)
"Hello, Noin. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Keyda said calmly as she watched Eve enter with the familiar form of Commander Lucrezia Noin Peacecraft behind her. Remaining seated she motioned with her hand to a nearby seat while her second in command walked over to stand by her side protectively. Eve didn't appear to have suffered during her brief captivity, Keyda thought as she studied Eve out of the corner of her eye while she watched Noin take the seat facing her. She was pleased to know that Preventers wouldn't have to be punished later for harming Eve in any way. "I'm afraid that most of my staff is asleep but I think we could round up something if you're thirsty or hungry, Commander."
"I'm fine, thank you. What are you doing here?" Noin asked getting right to the point as she stared at Keyda calmly with her emotions well under control now that she'd arrived and seen who she was up against. Of all the people she'd thought she might have to face she hadn't really though Keyda would be the one. Looks like she was wrong. Again.
"Well you wanted answers and since I'm the one in charge I was the logical person for you to see. I must say I thought you of all people would have caught on sooner, especially since I was the one who picked Eve up from the Chang residence in China a while back." Keyda said as she leaned back in her chair. "Given what I know about you and the people you work for I thought you guys would have made the connection. Then again you likely thought I was working for my grandfather and that they belonged to him perhaps? A rather ignorant assumption but understandable if it was a thought held by someone who didn't know me well."
)
"You're in charge? The hantas work for you?" Noin said looking from Eve to Keyda. The girls had to be about the same age and yet they were responsible for everything? My god they were barely over the age of twenty and they'd done all this? It was true, they'd thought Yamachi was involved with this and Keyda by association. They'd never thought that she'd gone off by herself and pulled this all off without her grandfather's help.
"Yes. You were expecting someone else obviously. Well seeing as it's very early in the morning and I do need my sleep I'll get right to the point, Noin. What Eve, Darius and a carefully selected few have been doing was for your own protection as we've tried to get across since day one. My grandfather is trying to kill you and your sister-in-law, we've been doing our best to get in the way and prevent that from happening. We didn't estimate the amount of firepower he was willing to use; otherwise you would never have known we were there. When we realized that he'd had people infiltrate into Preventers it became necessary to find out who which led to the breaking into Preventers. We needed access to their computers to get evidence. If that other idiot hadn't broken in you'd have never known the hantas existed much less nearby watching over you." Keyda said wanting to make that perfectly clear, thinking again how lowering it was to know that such a small thing had ruined or if they were lucky had nearly ruined everything. "None of my soldiers are a threat to you and the majority of the Preventers that work for you. What damage we've done we did because it was necessary to insure your survival and ours. There's nothing we've done that involves Preventers that I cannot justify. With me so far?" Eve asked as she waited for that to sink in. She'd have preferred not to have told Noin anything but too many things were working against them now. Too many holes in the wall that weren't being filled quickly enough.
"Your grandfather's trying to kill Relena and I? But why just us?" Noin asked as her quick mind processed the information and compared it to her own findings. What Keyda was saying made sense but there were too many holes yet to be sure. It didn't surprise her that she and Relena were on Yamachi's hit list, it was a given that Yamachi hated them both but why aim for only them and waste so much time and money to do it? What had they alone done to piss him off so much that he'd go to such extremes. If the hantas were having problems with them that meant seriously trained bad guys that likely costed seriously high amounts of money. Yamachi loved money too much to spend it foolishly. So what the hell was going on?
)
"If you were to hazard to guess who would be the one person on this planet that my grandfather hates above all else..who would you guess?" Keyda asked casually, swinging her foot back and forth slowly as she waited for Noin to connect the dots, adding a little helpful push.. "Someone who betrayed his trust and the trust of Treize when his true identity was revealed as well as his intentions?"
"Milliardo...you're talking about my husband...aren't you?" Noin said slowly as understanding dawned on her. She knew how much Yamachi hated her husband because she'd heard the bastard describe in vivid detail what he'd like to do to Milliardo. But why? Why wasn't he the target unless...