Chapter 19
"Mr. Hearn, where have you been?" Sara stood leaning against the control panel with her arms crossed over her chest, facing the elevator as she awaited his return. Hiding his nervousness, he said boldly, "A man's gotta eat, are you going to starve me? You know I work better on a full stomach." She glared at him, slowing pushing off the panel and sauntering over to him. She poked a finger into his shoulder and said in a low voice, "Next time. . .tell me or else you'll be eating through a tube."
"Point taken. Can I get back to my work?" He said impatiently. She stepped back and said, "Of course. . .but I just want you to know this. I give the orders, you do what I say. Get the picture? Good, now do whatever it is you do." She stalked over to the elevator and pressed the up button. With a soft sigh, Mr. Hearn approached his station and started a diagnostic check on the systems to make sure they were still running perfectly.
"Oh, Mr. Hearn! I almost forgot the reason I came down here." Sara turned back around and faced the scientist. He whirled around and said, "Yes?"
"There's been some reports of disturbances in the area so. . .if anything out of the ordinary seems to happen, do report it to me."
"Of course. . ." The elevator door opened and she stepped in, the door closing quickly behind her. Mr. Hearn leaned on the panel and said in a low whisper, "Those guys are going to get themselves caught if they're not careful."
"Chris, how are things going?" Sara walked up to her partner in command, sitting on his desk and resting a hand on it. He looked up from his computer and said, "Not very well actually. Apparently, there's been two cadets missing from training for the past half an hour and no one's seen them."
"Really. . .who are they?" Clicking a few buttons, two I.D. listings popped onto the screen.
"Cadets Topher Ace and James Band. They just came in an hour or so ago. . ."
"I think I remember them. . .I thought there was something odd about them. Looks like we have our spies, they shouldn't have been here for another few ho-" Suddenly, the power shut off in the base and they both jumped to their feet.
"They've gotten into the control center, but how. . ."
"I don't care, we have to stop them!" Sara and Chris ran for the door, whipping it open and dashing down the hallway to find their squads.
"Commander Sachs, the whole base has been put on lock down! We can't get in or out of this place without power to run the blast doors and elevators!" A lieutenant ran up to them in a panic.
"Then get together your men and head to the control center, immediately!" Sara shouted.
"Yes, ma'am!" He ran off and Sara turned to Chris.
"It's time to let out our trump card, Chris." He nodded and they made their way down the halls as the emergency red lights flashed on and lit the way.
"Our job's done here, let's go before they send a squad after us." Sopher said, getting up from his chair. As soon as he walked toward the door, he heard voices outside.
"The door's jammed, sir, we can't open it!"
"Then blast it open, whoever's in there has a date with their maker!"
Crud, they're already here. Sopher thought, turning to Iceman who was standing next to him looking concerned. Looking around, Sopher spotted a vent up on the wall and motioned Iceman to follow his lead.
"Hurry up, we have to get the power back before our security is compromised any further! FASTER!" The lieutenant yelled at the cadets using their laser guns to blast open the door. Finally, they broke through and kicked down the door, running in to find the room deserted. The lieutenant stepped in and looked around, spotting the vent grate laying on the floor.
"They're in the ventilation! We'll smoke them out if we have to. . .get some smoke bombs and launch them in there, they can't crawl that fast." One of the cadets ran out of the room to retrieve a couple smoke bombs and a launcher.
"Move it, Iceman, we have to get to the docking bay before they cut us off!" Sopher said, crawling as fast as he could with Iceman close behind. Suddenly, they heard sounds of something ricocheting off the metal shaft and looked back to see a cloud of smoke coming their way.
"Hold your breath!" Sopher said as he gasped in some air and kept crawling. They made it about 10 more feet before coughing and gagging on the smoke. Seeing another grate next to him, Sopher desperately knocked it out and fell out of the shaft, tumbling across the floor with Iceman behind him. Hearing clicks, they both looked up to see a circle of guards around them.
"Well, I guess the ventilation's not the fastest way to the cafeteria!" Sopher joked before being hauled to his feet and handcuffed.
"You thought you were so smart, didn't you? Move it! The commander wants to have a talk with you." As they were pushed down the hall, Sopher thought, I hope we bought them enough time. . .good luck, guys.
Miguel and Playa slipped into the outside ventilation, quietly making their way down to the lower level laboratory. Along their way, they heard a conversation being carried on nearby them in one of the hallways.
"Mr. Barton should be here soon, let us wait for him with the prisoners."
"Wouldn't he have a hard time breaking through all of the security we've set up?"
"This is one of the Gundam pilots we're talking about. . .if they ended a war, they can deal with a few guards." Miguel looked at Playa and they crawled further.
So they know he's coming? But how? Who tipped them off? Playa thought to himself, turning a corner and finding a long drop in the shaft. He pulled out his grappling hook and firmly attached it to the metal floor beneath him, sliding down the tunnel to the bottom where he landed and scoped out the situation. Miguel followed close behind as Playa motioned to go left at the conjunction. They crawled about 30 feet before stopping and peering through a grate. Before them was a dark room that was filled with the low hum of machinery.
Must be the place. . .now where is everyone. . .They crawled a little further until they reached another grate and looked down to see a barely visible form with its back to them. As they quietly unscrewed the grate, they heard a ding and soft whoosh of metal sliding past metal.
"Mr. Hearn, we found some friends of yours having fun with our security! Care to explain yourself?" Sara strode into the room, being closely followed by her second in command, Chris, and the guards hauling Sopher and Iceman with them.
"Friends? I thought they had all been killed by people like you. . .oh wait, they were." Mr. Hearn turned around, crossing his arms.
"Don't be smart with me, Lieutenant Wasielewski told me all about how you took his men off duty and sent him away. . .right before he died." Sara smirked, placing her hands on her hips. Mr. Hearn glared at her, saying, "And you're going to believe him? What makes you think he wasn't in on it too?"
"Because his story would explain your disappearance from your post."
"I told you, I was hungry. I took a stroll down the hallway to get some fresh air and then came back down. Anything wrong with that?"
"If it were true, no. . .but it's not."
"Got any proof I'm lying other than a dead man's word?"
"I won't tolerate cheekiness in my organization!"
"I thought it was Commander Treize's organization. . .or didn't you intend to ever revive His Excellency?"
"SILENCE!" Sara drew her sword and lunged forward in a fencing position, the tip of the blade digging into Mr. Hearn's chest. He fell back against the control panel, looking surprised as sweat began to break through his pores. She slowly crept closer to him, the sword all along getting closer and closer to stabbing into his heart. In a deep, passionate voice, Sara growled, "How dare you betray me, with all that is at stake? You're a bigger fool than I ever thought you were. Chris!"
"Ma'am!" Chris saluted in attention.
"Terminate the power to the second prison block."
"NO!" Mr. Hearn exclaimed, feeling the blade dig deeper into his chest and cringing.
"DO IT, NOW!" Sara yelled over her shoulder. Chris nodded and walked toward the prison block, Mr. Hearn's eyes desperately darted over to where he was going.
"Please, Commander Sachs, don't do this. . ." Mr. Hearn pleaded.
"Give me a reason why." She hissed deeply, staring cruelly into his eyes.
"Because. . .if you kill them, you're killing your hostages."
"I was going to do that anyway, what's your point."
"I've connected their vital signs together so if one of them dies, they all die. If you kill your hostages now, the others will have no reason to NOT blow this base to kingdom come!"
"You little-"
"And if you kill me, the same will happen. . ." With a scream of anger, Sara grabbed him and threw him to the ground behind her, yelling, "How DARE you undermine my authority! Perhaps a little bit of 'reprogramming' will break that spirited soul of yours. GUARDS, take Mr. Hearn to the Second floor liberation room."
"No, NO, YOU CAN'T!" Mr. Hearn screamed, trying to desperately get away as the guards grabbed him and carried him kicking and screaming all the way to the elevator.
"Liberation room?" Sopher glanced at Iceman who looked a little nervous.
"That's the commander's name for the torture chamber." The guard holding him whispered with a grin. Sopher's eyes widened in shock and he turned to Sara, saying, "You can't do this, you might kill him! I thought you needed him!"
"I don't need some sassy scientist who thinks he can intimidate me with mere threats. . .I could care less if they die now or later, no one could tell the difference. And no one WILL tell, either." Sara glared fiercely at them as she replaced her sword in its sheath and called out to Chris. He came back and she said, "We'll let his family live a little longer, at least until their use is expired. Put these two somewhere out of sight and ready the guards for our guest's arrival." Chris nodded and began to lead the guards to the elevator when a low rumble echoed through the room, shaking the foundation below their feet.
"He's here." Sara muttered, looking around in anticipation of his appearance. She walked up to Chris and said, "We'll wait here, he'll find it'll be a bit harder to just pop in on us soon. Handcuff them in Mr. Hearn's quarters so they're out of the way." As they carried the rebels away, the elevator door rung and opened, revealing the person they were eagerly waiting for.
"Ah, I see he's here already. . ." Chris said, standing next to Sara. Trowa stepped out and said, "Where are they."
"Right behind us." Sara said, her arms crossed smugly over her chest. He began to walk forward when she put up a hand, saying, "Ah, now now. . .you can't just waltz in here and think we'd freely give them to you. Remember, we had a ransom for their pathetic souls."
"No deal, now move if you know what's good for you." He raised his hand to her but stopped, looking surprised.
"Awe, I think he's finally realized he's having problems performing. . ." Chris smirked.
"What. . ." Trowa muttered, looking at his hand in confusion. Then it finally hit him and he stared at them, "No. . .you. . .you couldn't have. . ."
"Couldn't have what? Oh, are you referring to our friend?" Sara snapped her fingers and a figure stepped out of the shadows, causing Trowa's eyes to narrow.
"I guess they've met previously." Chris whispered.
"Michael." Trowa growled, spitefully staring at the solemn man standing by the prisoners.
"Heero, how could you let him out of your sight, he'll ruin everything! We have to stop him or. . .or something!" Quatre carried on in flustered nervousness.
"Calm down, Quatre, nothing will happen to them." Heero said, his fiercely irritated eyes darting over to Rachel. Furrowing his brow, he said, "What are you doing, Rachel?" She sat on the base of the stairs, hunched over her clenched hands. Duo walked in and rested a hand on Heero's shoulder, whispering, "She's praying. . .for their safety, I guess."
"Praying. . .why? How will that change anything?"
"It gives her strength and power, she told me that God gives her the might to bring down her enemies through the prayers she utters. . ."
"Hmm. . ." He stepped over to her and knelt before her. She looked up and stared into his eyes as he said, "I want to be strong. . .show me how to 'pray'."
"Remember what I told you earlier about this? God can't hear you if you haven't accepted Him. . ."
"I know. . .but. . .pray with me. . .for me." She nodded and took his hands, closing her eyes and uttering whispers of prayers and cries for help. Duo glanced at Quatre who looked curious. Duo nodded to him and they joined the two on the stairs and linked their hands, feeling God's power flowing through them. Wufei wandered into the hallway in search of his comrades and saw them sitting around the stairs.
"Why are you four sitting around at a time like this! We have to-" Rachel looked up with a peaceful smile and said, "We were preparing."
"Preparing?" Chang looked confused. They all stood and Heero said, "Wufei, I have a plan I want to test out, mind helping me convince my wife to go along with it?"
"Certainly. . .what is it?" As Heero walked away with Chang, quickly explaining his idea, the others turned to each other and exchanged worried glances before following.
"Absolutely not! I won't allow it, Heero!" Relena argued with her husband after hearing his plan of attack.
"Relena. . ." Heero was getting exhausted by her refusals to listen to him, trying to remain calm and collected.
"Relena, we all understand your situation and what doing this might say about your governing, but it's our only hope. Please understand our situation as well. . ." Rachel pleaded, motioning to the others around her. Relena stared at Chang's depressed expression, feeling empathy for his pain. Letting her head fall, she said, "If it's the only way. . ."
"I'm afraid it is, we'd simply teleport into their facility but something's blocking our powers from reaching the inside." Heero explained.
"I don't know how far Trowa's gotten but I figure he's not doing much better himself." Rachel said. Standing, Relena turned to Heero and said, "Well then, shall we go?"
"Yes, Zechs and Noin have volunteered to stay behind in case things get messy. They want you to stay too."
"Heero, I-" Relena tried to protest.
"You are what they want, Relena, the last thing I am going to do is walk right into their fortress with the Prime Minister! Zechs will be over in a few minutes to stay with you while we're gone, so don't worry." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and turned to the others, saying, "Follow me, we'll head out immediately. Quatre, are you ready?" Quatre was glancing back through the doorway and brought his attention back to the conversation when he heard his name called.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I was just making sure Sayla was alright." Heero nodded and closed his eyes, disappearing with the group to the caves storing his secret ship. They made their way through the tunnels to the cavern the ship was resting in and entered it quickly. Taking his place at the helm, Heero said, "Take a seat and get ready, I'll teleport the ship outside and get us as close to the facility as possible before we have to go there manually." Everyone got situated and he started the engines before sending the ship outside.
"This is it, whatever happens I hope we make it out alive. . ." Duo said solemnly.
"It's my job to be the negative one here. . .try cheering up a little bit." Heero said, glancing over his shoulder. Duo smirked briefly before saying, "Well, you were busy driving, I figured I'd cover that for you."
"Thanks. . .I can multi-task, you know. Alright, let's move out. Systems: Go!" The ship magically appeared over the Appalachian mountain chain and Heero pulled back on the acceleration. The ship kicked into high speed, rocking through the air as they made their way to Kentucky's Cumberland Falls in a matter of minutes.
