A/N: Wow, sorry for taking so long to update. I could blame all the usual things for the immense delay, like school, work, family, the government, or being abducted by aliens, but the truth is I just suck. Well, hope you enjoy, and I'll update sooner next time (looks back at angry readers who are pointing guns at her head, hoping the answer will appease them.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously, all my money went towards a university-sized hole. All I have to show is a pile of books for class, which I would gladly give away for free.

Ch 5 Shadow

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The shadows are not the enemy, Heero repeated to himself for the thousandth time. In theory that means the light is the enemy, right? Looking around at the brightly-lit room only succeeded in speeding up his heart rate. If the enemy was in the light, then his list if potential threats just multiplied by a thousand. With growing suspicion he glared at the occupants of the room in a futile attempt to memorize faces. The effort was making him dizzy. Clenching a fist, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. For the first time in a long time he was anxious and jumpy.

Heero repeated to himself for the thousandth time. Looking around at the brightly-lit room only succeeded in speeding up his heart rate. If the enemy was in the light, then his list if potential threats just multiplied by a thousand. With growing suspicion he glared at the occupants of the room in a futile attempt to memorize faces. The effort was making him dizzy. Clenching a fist, he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. For the first time in a long time he was anxious and jumpy.

How could that little anonymous message put me on edge like this? I should know better than to let something like that get to me. But in the back of his mind he couldn't help but take heed of the warning. Some long forgotten feeling told him to trust the sender.

"Heero?"

Heero jerked his attention away from the crowd and his thoughts to focus on the woman beside him. Concern flickered in Relena's eyes for a moment, but her question was left unspoken as the diplomat they were walking with called her attention to something in the auditorium. Taking a selfish moment, Heero took a long appreciative look at her, drinking in the sight of her in a sharp gray power suit, her blond hair tied back in a neat ponytail with her bangs falling just above her eyes. A smile tugged at his lips as he took in the expression of feigned interest she was giving the old man.

"Oof!" he grunted as he was suddenly halted in his tracks. The impact caused him to stumble back a few steps, and a strong hand gripped his shoulder from behind, steadying him.

"Be more watchful, lad," a deep voice said. "Your enemies sit with the angels. Keep her to your left, but watch to the right. Look straight on at noon."

Heero froze, stunned. The voice, it was tinged with a familiar accent he couldn't quite place. And his words were similar to the warning he had received earlier. Could this be the sender? Turning sharply on his heel, he intended to confront the man and take him aside for questioning, but there was no one there. He hadn't seen the man's face, so spotting him in the milling crowd would be impossible. Had he imagined all that?

"Heero, are you all right?" Relena asked, checking him over with a glance.

"Hn," he automatically answered, his thoughts straying towards the crowd. What did he mean? What's his game?

"Agent Yuy." Wufei's familiar voice crackled through his earpiece.

"Go ahead, Chang."

"All clear on the upper levels and the outside perimeter. Safety checks have been completed."

"Good. Wufei?" Heero started, faltering for the briefest of moments, "did you by any chance see the man who just ran into me?"

"No, why?"

Heero scowled before schooling his face back into a neutral expression. "Never mind. Yuy out."

Taking one last sweeping glance at the room, he tried to calm his racing mind. All the security checks were complete, and Heero could trust Wufei to be thorough and concise. Escorting Relena up the stage steps, he led her to her appointed seat and then took his place behind her and off to the right.

Keep her to your left, but watch to the right. Remembering the words form moments before, he shifted his position, making sure Relena was just a few feet to the left and in front of him. Unable to resist the urge he began a meticulous scan of the areas to his right. Why he was paying heed to a stranger's advice he didn't know, but something in the back of his mind told him to do it, and right then he was more than willing to listen.

There was something about the room that made the time lag on and on. Heero had lost track of how long the Minister of Economic Affairs had been droning on. In truth, he hadn't caught a word of what the man had said, and he was pretty sure he didn't care. Instead, his mind rolled the stranger's words around and around as he tried to decipher their meaning.

Your enemies sit with the angels. What does that mean? Where could that be? Heero looked at the audience hoping that someone hadn't gotten mixed in with the larger group. If they pulled something drastic in the middle of the crowd it would be nearly impossible to get to them.

Look straight on at noon. Was that the direction the attack would come from? Heero had never liked riddles, and today he liked them even less.

Heero had never liked riddles, and today he liked them even less.

A spattering of applause brought him back to the matter at hand as Relena was introduced. As she stood to take her place at the podium, he kept close by, always keeping her on his left. Once again he scanned the crowd, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. All he saw was a sea of nameless faces. Looking a little higher he caught sight of the large ornamental wall clock at the back of the room. It was almost noon.

Look straight on at noon, the voice repeated. Your enemies sit with angels.

It was then that Heero Yuy's heart skipped. Just above the clock was a painting of two cherubs, and just above that was a balcony reserved for two VIP guests at the conference. Two VIPs who were currently missing. The light glinted off of something just as the clock struck noon.

"Get down!" he shouted, grabbing Relena as the sharp crack of a gun split the air. They hit the ground with a dull thud and Heero quickly hauled his charge behind the podium. "Wufei, balcony five, now!"

"On our way."

Heero took a brief moment to check Relena over before scanning his surroundings. His eyes caught where the bullet had struck. He frowned as he realized that it had hit right where he had been standing. Another gunshot wrenched his attention back out to the panicked mob that was attempting to either leave or take cover. Two more shots rang out, but he couldn't determine where they were coming from.

"Agent Chang, report."

"We've sealed off the entire second floor, but we haven't seen anybody."

"Then who the hell are you shooting at?"

"What?"

Heero didn't have time to answer as two men emerged from the crowd and jumped up on the stage, each brandishing a gun. Placing himself between them and Relena he pulled out his own gun and fired, each shot hitting its mark. Another shot split the air and Heero felt the bullet whiz by his head in Relena's direction. He heard a scream and turned, fearful that he would find her dead. Instead he caught the sight of another assailant falling to the ground just behind her. Looking in the direction of the shot he expected to see a Preventer agent, but all he caught was a retreating shadow.

"Wufei, second story, east wing."

"I'm on it."

"Relena, we need to move fast. Follow my lead and keep your head down."

Relena nodded, biting her lip as she took his offered hand.

"Keep her left! Go now!" a voice above him shouted.

Heero hesitated only a moment and tugged her along on their mad dash to a side door. It was barely a second later when the building was rocked by an explosion. Bits of debris peppered his back as he once again used his body to shield his charge. Looking back he saw the place that they had just vacated was nothing but a smoking hole. Another explosion on the vacant stage sent him to the ground, knocking him into a daze. His vision swam as he searched for Relena. She was a few yards off to his side, dazed like him, but seemingly unharmed. His blurred vision caught sight of a figure moving towards them. He struggled to his feet, but fear gripped him when he realized he didn't have time to get to Relena.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Wufei huffed as he bolted around another corner, the sound of another explosion urging him even faster. On his initial search of the second floor balconies he had found nothing but a few scattered and frightened VIPs trying to find a way out, but on his way to check the third floor he'd spotted two bodies lying near the stairwell. One had been shot dead, but the other was alive, though the condition he would be in when he woke up didn't look good. Both were armed and wearing imitations of the Preventers' uniforms with kevlar underneath, indicating that these were most likely the suspects. He didn't have time to ponder who had rendered them useless when he'd heard another gunshot and spotted a retreating figure. He'd been chasing said figure for the past few minutes.

Skidding to a halt he finally caught sight of his target.

"Halt! Stay where you are!" he shouted, raising his gun and training it on the tall figure.

"No time!" the target shouted.

"Put your weapon down!" Wufei commanded.

"Damnit all, look!" the man said, indicating the scene below him.

Wufei glance down and caught sight of a dazed Heero Yuy attempting to get between another assailant and the Vice Foreign Minister. Realizing that Heero wouldn't make it in time, the Chinese man tore his attention away from his target and fired twice at the gunman below him. The man grunted and fell, a crimson pool flowing from the two new holes in his head.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, we're almost out of time."

Wufei turned his attention back to his suspect's now retreating form. With a grunt of frustration he took off after him yet again. Christ, this guy's fast! he thought as he found he was falling further behind.

He once again came to a screeching halt, but this time he managed to back up a few steps as well when he caught sight of what his assailant was holding. The bomb was compact and sleek in design, enabling it to be hidden almost anywhere. Wufei had seen such explosives before and he knew first-hand what they could do.

"Get back now!" his target shouted and Wufei didn't hesitate to follow orders. So far this man's actions had been unpredictable and he was hesitant to charge in and wrestle the explosive away from the man. Before Wufei could think of his next move the suspect hurled the bomb out the window. A heartbeat later he heard it explode and took cover. He looked up in time to see that the force of the blast had knocked the man back hard enough to make him trip over the railing, causing him to tumble to the ground below. Picking himself up, Wufei raced to the nearest stairwell and headed down.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Heero wasn't sure what had happened. One moment he was racing to save Relena and the next the assassin was dead on the ground. He'd looked up after the shots and seen Wufei, but he had also spotted another figure. Both Wufei and the other man had taken off at a run as he stumbled over to Relena to make sure she was okay. After another minute or so he'd heard another explosion across from where he and Relena sat, and had seen a body tumble over the railing and hit the floor. Time stood still as the smoke cleared and the shouts of frightened onlookers were slowly replaced by the sounds of Preventers and other law enforcement officers entering the room.

"Heero?" he heard Relena ask.

"I think it's over," he murmured. "Come on, we need to get you to the paramedics and have you checked out."

She nodded and stood on unsteady legs. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Wufei, Duo, and two other Preventers gathering around the spot where he had seen the body land. The sudden feeling that he needed to check the scene out right away made him divert his path towards the group. As he approached he could see a young man sitting on the ground in tattered and bloody clothing cradling his head.

"Well, where should we start?" he heard Wufei ask when he finally reached the group. "You're under arrest for the attempted murder of the Vice Foreign Minister, the illegal possession of a firearm and several explosives, the discharge and detonation of said weapons in a populated and secure area, resisting arrest, assault, trespassing, and I'm sure that there's a few more charges we'll find as time goes on. Anything to say?"

"Ow."

"Ow?" Wufei repeated, a little bewildered at the simple comment.

"Yes ow," the man growled. "You fall from a second story balcony right onto your arse and see how you feel."

Duo chuckled, earning a glare from Wufei as Heero stepped closer. He had recognized the voice the moment the man had spoken, and he took this as his opportunity to get a few questions answered. He took a moment to examine the captive's features. Even with dust, blood, a tattered ball cap, and sunglasses obscuring his face, there was something very familiar about him.

"You were the one I talked to earlier today, weren't you?" he asked.

"Aye."

"You sent me the warning a few days ago, didn't you?" The man only nodded. "You knew about all this, didn't you?" Another nod, this one tinged with shame. Heero had to take a moment to check himself, reigning in his growing anxiety. "Who are you?"

This time the man grinned and pushed his ball cap back a little. "I am nothing more than a walking shadow, seeking that which I have lost."

"I am the light that leads the shadow," Heero automatically replied. "I am that which you seek." Heero's heart raced as he whispered words long forgotten.

"Glad to see you're well, little brother," the man said, pulling down his sunglasses just enough to reveal two hauntingly familiar amber eyes.

)TBC