I don't own anything.
An Assassin's Memories
Twenty-Eighth Shot: Failure
Michael stepped carefully down the deserted hallway and stared at the bodies scattered across the floor. "Fucking monsters," Ginji hissed.
"Quiet," Michael snapped. The small Section-9 team was already ridiculous out numbered, Michael did not need to loose their sole advantage of surprise.
"They've been through here already," Yuji stated lowly. "They're moving from the entry point into the Geo-Front. We'll run into them."
"I figured," Michael replied as he tightened his grip on his machinegun. He paused at the end of the hallway and peered around the corner. "Hold it." Michael ducked back around and carefully slung his machinegun.
"What's up?" Yuji asked.
"UN search and destroy team," Michael whispered as he drew his Colt from his hip.
"What are you going to do with that?" Ginji whispered.
"Light a barbecue." Michael leaned around the corner slightly and raised the Colt. He stared at the UN soldier armed with a flame-thrower through the Colt's sights and squeezed the trigger.
(:ii:)
Gendo looked up as another tremor tore through the Geo-Front. The UN soldiers were getting closer. The men Gendo had charged with his own protection were proving to be nothing more then a temporary measure.
Gendo opened one of the drawers of his desk and stared at the hidden buttons inside. He pressed one and watched as one of the wall panels swung outward. "What are you planning Gendo?"
"I will finish what we began," Gendo stated.
"I see," Kozo replied. Gendo stood up and spared the other occupant of his office a glance before turning to the hidden doorway.
"Come Rei. It is time for you to fulfill your purpose."
"I understand," the blue-haired girl said quietly.
(:ii:)
Asuka winced slightly as her stomach flipped in response to the zero gravity sensation produced by the sudden stop of the Eva launch catapult. The city was laid out burning before her. Her enemies scurried around the feet of her Eva like ants. "Are you okay Asuka?" It was Misato's voice.
"I'm fine!" Asuka snapped. She tore one of the pallet rifles free from its moorings. It didn't matter that her enemies were humans. They were her enemies and for that they needed to die. She was going to have to kill them because no one else could.
"Tanks are moving into position to get a shot at you," Misato warned.
"I can see them." Asuka stared at the ugly green machines and leveled her rifle.
(:ii:)
Ginji tried hard not to stare at the bodies as they walked past. "This must have been one of Ikari's security details," Yuji stated as he kneeled beside a man wearing only a partially melted black suit and carrying a pistol.
"Well that just saves us the trouble of dealing with then," Michael replied. A gunshot went off and Ginji spun to see Michael aiming at one of the badly burned bodies. The body slumped back to the ground and Michael holstered his pistol. He brought his machinegun back to his shoulder. "How much further to Commander Ikari's office?"
"It's right there," Yuji answered, pointing to a wide open door with a few more UN bodies lying around it, products of the short and fierce firefight after the explosion.
"They might have beaten us to it."
"Maybe not," Yuji stated as he pulled on a pair of protective headphones and tugged a silver cylinder from his vest. Ginji nodded and pulled on his own headphones. He took the silver grenade and moved to stand next to the open door. He tugged the pin and hurled the tiny device into the room.
(:ii:)
Michael winced at the sheer sonic assault released by the flash bang grenade. Even with headphones on it was painful. Ginji moved in and Michael moved after him. "Clear!"
"Clear!" Michael echoed as he swept the room with his rifle. The soul occupant was on the floor, hands bound behind his back, with Ginji sitting on him.
"Get off the Sub-Commander," Yuji growled. Ginji quickly scrambled to his feet. Michael stepped forward and rolled the older man onto his back. He was pale and there was blood on his shirt.
He's hurt."
"How bad?" Yuji asked.
"Pretty bad," Michael replied as he tugged a needle from his vest along with a clear bottle. He filled the needle and quickly tapped it.
"What's that?"
"Morphine," Michael answered. "The UN troops I was with had a lot, so I took some." He pressed the needle into the older man and tossed it away. "We got to him just in time."
"We're too late," Ginji argued. "He's dying."
"We came here for answers," Michael stated, "not to save his life."
"You have become very much like your father." Michael stared down at the old gray-haired man.
"Where is he Fuyutsuki?"
"You're more single minded then either of your parents," Kozo continued. "They were so alike sometimes that I can't understand why they loved each other." Michael grabbed the man by his collar and jerked him upright.
"Where the fuck is he old man?" he demanded. "Just because you're dying doesn't mean I can't tear the answer out of you!"
"He's gone deep into Centra Dogma with Rei," Kozo said slowly.
"How do we get there?" Michael asked.
"There's a button inside the desk," Kozo answered. "If Rei merges with Lilith and then with Adam. . .well. . .you won't like it."
"I've heard all I need," Michael stated as he straightened up. "We should have brought more people."
"We do need someone to watch this position," Yuji agreed. "Oh well. Hindsight is twenty/twenty."
"Yeah." Michael said as stepped over the old man to get to the desk. He found the button and watched as the door slid open. "Guess we'll just have to role with it."
"That sounded Taoist," Yuji commented. "I thought you were Christian."
"Any good assassin is a Taoist," Michael stated. "Go with the flow, right?"
"Yeah," Ginji replied. He raised his shotgun to his shoulder. "No one ever got anywhere without moving. Let's go."
(:ii:)
Kozo listened as the footsteps of the men slowly got fainter. They were drowned out by the mechanical grinding sound of the hidden door shutting. It really was funny.
Gendo Ikari was an obsessive fool. He became so enamored with the goal that he paid little attention to the struggle to reach it. Shinji had grown to be so much more like his mother. He was clear minded and objective based, even if his objectives would have horrified Yui.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't even keep him out of trouble like I promised I would."
(:ii:)
"All we need to complete this little Bond flick this is a cackling madman." Michael paused and glanced at Ginji over his shoulder.
"Commander Ikari."
"You're right," Ginji stated. "Now we're definitely stuck in a James Bond movie."
"I hate agreeing with him, but he has a point," Yuji added.
"Doesn't it bother you that we just left one of the men signing your paychecks to die?" Michael asked as he turned back to his careful descent of the stairway.
"I was going to quit anyway," Yuji replied. "If you're going to treat me like a jackass then you have to pay me a lot more then they did."
"Must be nice to have a choice."
"It is," Yuji stated. "You guys should join me after we get out of this. We'll go on a mercenary world tour. What languages do you speak?"
"Russian, English, Mandarin, and Japanese," Michael replied simply.
"English, Arabic, and Japanese," Ginji added.
"Perfect." Michael frowned as the bottom of the staircase came into view.
"Lock it up." Michael checked his machinegun and turned on the laser sight locked onto the weapon's front sight blade. He flashed a series of hand signals to Ginji and pressed his shoulder against the left wall. Ginji took the right and brought his shotgun up carefully.
Yuji gave a sharp hand motion and Michael pivoted out into the hallway. The long brightly-lit area was empty. Michael felt Yuji's hand tap his shoulder twice and nodded. He started moving forward carefully with his machinegun ready for any of Ikari's tricks.
(:ii:)
"Asuka watch out!"
"I can see them Misato!" Asuka snapped as she dodged a swipe from one of the spear carrying white Evas. Everything had been going so well and then these. . .things had arrived. "God damn you!" Asuka swung both of her pallet rifles around and fired at the white Eva that had been trying to dive-bomb her. The bullets slashed into the Eva's wings and sent the monstrous machine to the ground. "I got one!"
"It hasn't stopped functioning yet," Ritsuko warned.
"Just die!"
(:ii:)
Michael moved slowly around the corner and stared down the empty hallway. They had to be getting close. Michael looked further down the hall and frowned. There wasn't any way, short of mechanical transportation, that Gendo and Rei had made it this far this quickly. "Hold."
"What's wrong?" Yuji asked.
"They're around here somewhere." Michael glanced at the only door in the hallway's smooth, seamless walls. "Can you get in this?" Ginji kneeled and examined the keypad.
"No problem."
"Do it." Michael looked down the hallway. He had a bad feeling about something. "Hurry."
"You can't rush this sort of this," Ginji stated.
"What's wrong?" Yuji asked.
"Something's humming," Michael replied.
"I don't hear anything," Yuji hissed. Michael looked around. A smooth metal blister on the wall caught his eyes and he brought up his machinegun even as the blister opened.
"I got it," Ginji stated.
"Cover!" Michael's machinegun roared to life even as a massive weapon slid from the blister. Fire burst from the end of the muzzle and Michael's left leg was knocked out from under him. He stumbled, his shoulder slammed into the wall and he managed to get inside the doorway. "Who's hurt?"
"Me," Yuji grunted.
"Same here," Ginji added. "How the fuck did that happened? I was behind both of you!"
"Type-31 automated sentry system," Michael managed to sit up and stared down at his leg. He had been hurt worse, but not by much. "A Japanese licensed copy of the Fabrique Nationale MAG machinegun firing armor penetrating rounds on a computer controlled turret mount."
"It would have been nice to know about those earlier," Yuji growled.
"They're experimental," Michael replied. "I've never encountered one and I've had no reason to expect it." He fumbled inside his vest and tugged out the pain pen he had been saving. "How bad are you two hurt?"
"Real bad," Ginji replied. "What about you?"
"I'm going to finish the mission," Michael stated. He pressed the pen against his neck and felt the familiar sting. "You two stay here." Michael picked up his machinegun and stared at the whole punched clean through the receiver. He growled in disgust and hurled the weapon away.
"Did they ever teach you that solo missions are begging for disaster?" Yuji demanded. Michael managed to stand, using the wall for support. The pain was already fading fast.
"Where I learned, solo missions were the norm." Michael slid Marshal's Colt from its holster and inspected the extended ten-round magazine hanging below the weapon's grip. "I won't fail."
"Well we're kind of counting on that," Ginji commented.
"Failure's not an option," Yuji added helpfully.
-End
(:ii:)
-Author's notes. Well. I'm sure that this is either the second from last chapter or third from last. I'm not making exact statements any more. They always blow up in my face.