Jungle Rot
By: Wildfire Sky
I am currently on vacation, so forgive me if in this chapter I seem a little…distracted. Even though I am on vacation, I felt it was my duty to try and get you an update as soon as possible. So here I am, sitting in my room, typing away as if I had nothing better to do…and I don't, dammit…
Jungle Rot
Chapter Four
"Excuse me, Lady Une, but you have a call on line four."
Lady Une barely looked up from the report in her hands as the soft voice of her secretary as it filtered through the intercom on her desk. "Who's the call from?"
"Agent Duo Maxwell, ma'am. His verification code checks out in the system. Will you take the call?"
Une's attention was immediately shifted, giving the secretary the affirmative to let the call through. She patiently waited as the call connected from her office to Buenos Aires where she'd stationed him nearly two days before. He was supposed to check in when Relena's flight arrived and he'd made contact with Heero for the transfer of her protection. However, Duo's call came almost three hours late, leaving a worried Une to ponder just what the hell was going on. Usually, she would have authorized contact in the case of an emergency, but South America was still unclassified as far as threats went and she'd rather not let out Relena's current location to the wrong people. He fact that the press had gotten a hold of the information was evidence enough of the lax in security.
She was pulled from her thoughts as Duo's face appeared on her vid screen, slightly distorted from the poor satellite connection. His hand was held up to her forehead in a sharp salute, holding the position until Une acknowledged him.
"Your call came late, Agent Maxwell," she said impatiently, "care to explain why?"
Duo sighed solemnly, dropping the salute and staring at the screen sternly. "I'm sorry, Commander, but there's been a problem."
He didn't need to say more. Duo was in charge of Relena's safety, and that was his only purpose being down there. For him to say something like that either meant that Relena was in danger, or Relena was dead. Worse, such an event would be a double blow to both her and the six men and woman that she worked so closely with…the loss of Heero. But such thoughts had to be pushed aside as she hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.
"Details." She snapped, her mind already cycling through the procedure for any damage control she might have to instill. "I want to know when, where, and how it happened."
Duo nodded, casting a small glance over his shoulder. "I kinda made this guy a promise to get the details from him, said I wouldn't mention it to you, so forgive me if I have to pause every now and then."
"Where are you?" Une asked, an eyebrow quirked.
"In the men's bathroom, it's the only place I could actually get a clear enough signal without attracting attention to myself." Duo cleared his throat, glancing at something off screen. "I'm sending your secretary the documents I received from the tower log book and audio recorder. As you know, Relena's plane was scheduled for a midnight arrival to try and sideswipe the usual press hounds, however, I just received word this morning that the tower received a call from some private airstrip of a distress call coming from the Amazonian area…"
Une gave her secretary a small nod as she set down a small manila folder containing Duo's documents. As she listened to his report, she glanced over the files, her narrowed eyes scanning over the contents. "And what time, exactly, was the distress called received and what time did the tower receive it?"
Duo winced to himself. "The private strip said they received the report just before midnight, which means that the plane was behind schedule anyways, assuming, of course, that the signals are as good as modern technology. However, considering the area we're talking about, it's quite possible that the distress was delayed from anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. The same goes for the tower. They received the call from the private strip around four o'clock in the morning. Again, possibility of a time delay."
Sighing to herself, Une leaned back in her chair, carefully reading the documents before her. "This report says that the distress call was chopped and incomplete."
"What you see is what you get, I'm afraid." Duo shrugged one shoulder apologetically. "I wish I could do more, but unless we get a tech unit to the actual airstrip, which is God-knows-where, we can't get any more than that."
"So we don't know the exact location or if they even went down, correct?"
"Yes, Commander." Duo paused, looking over his shoulder as if listening for something. After a moment he turned back to her, flashing a short smile. "Sorry, thought I heard someone coming. Anyways, what I do know, both from word of mouth and from seeing it myself, we are smack dab in the middle of the rainy season for the Amazon. Not exactly a premier time to schedule a flight over the rainforest."
Une frowned. "Who authorized the flight?"
Duo stared at her for a moment as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her further. "The captain requested a flight change with Heero a few hours before take off, saying that it might be safer to go straight through South America rather than around it. Reports confirmed that there were rumors of rebel movement in some of the coastal countries in protest to the Preventers opening a base there. Since they were flying in a marked plane, Heero agreed with the pilot for the route change."
"So Yuy authorized it."
"Yes…"
Une pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me he was aware of the weather hazards, Duo…tell me he didn't base his decision without looking at all of the facts."
Duo snorted in mock surprise. "Please! This is Heero Yuy we're talking about. He probably knew the weather patterns before the weather man did. And considering his options, I would have done the exact same thing, honestly."
"Thank you, Duo. That makes me feel a lot better…"
The sarcasm didn't escape the ex-pilot, his face splitting into a grin. "What else am I good for, Lady?"
She wanted to say "not much", but wisely kept her mouth shut, opting not to get into battle of the wits and insults from the current reining champion. Instead she said: "Do what you can on your end to find out the relative location of the last distress call and narrow it down from that. I'll organize a search team."
Duo's smirk grew. "Who has the pleasure of telling Big Brother?"
Lady Une couldn't help but glare at the video screen, her mind already steeling her for the force that would come from breaking the news to the most over protective brother she'd ever laid eyes on.
"I do."
"I'm hungry…I'm hot…and I want to sit down and rest for a bit."
There was a gruff grunt. "You just sat down a moment ago."
"Two hours is not a moment, Heero Yuy!"
Heero tried to drown out her persistent whining, a noise he'd been dealing with for quite some time now. It was true that in this environment, two hours might seem a lot longer than it actually was, but the quicker they moved, the better chance they had of survival. No doubt they were already being tracked by predators, the blood trail an easy scent to pick up on. Heero covered a wince as he stepped, trying not to let Relena see the brief moment of weakness. He could handle this…he didn't need Relena worrying about him.
But still…it was becoming harder to concentrate. He glanced up at the high canopy, the long, thick jungle leaves blocking out the noon sky and forming a humid dome around them. It was getting close to noon, the hottest point in the day. Where as before, the rain had been a burden, he was now quietly hoping for its return. As if on cue the jungle suddenly darkened as heavy rain clouds slowly rolled in overhead.
Heero looked around for something that might provide them with shelter from what promised to be a heavy rainfall. In the distance was what looked like a rock overhang, a rare, but welcome sight in the jungle. He turned to address Relena, only to find her looking at him curiously. She moved towards him, her hands outstretched and moving for his side.
"Heero…is that blood?"
Cursing to himself at her discovery, Heero tried to play it off, brushing aside her questing fingers. "I got some blood on me from the pilot. It will wash out." Relena scrunched her face up into a disbelieving frown.
"Heero…" Whatever she was about to say was cut off as she wrapped her arms about her tightly, shivering. "Why is it so cold?"
Shit…Heero snarled at to himself. The temperature was dropping and the outcropping had to be at least another half mile in front of them. If they didn't hurry the rain would start and they might lose their way…or worse, each other. Snatching her hand up, Heero began to pull her in the direction of the rocks.
"Come on, Relena, we need to find shelter."
Relena flushed slightly at the contact, lowering her eyes to he ground as they stumbled forward. There was a low rumble from behind and Relena turned, looking over her shoulder, staring into the now dark jungle. Her bashful smile slowly faded at the sight rushing towards her.
"Heero…" she whispered, "What is that?"
Heero paused, turning to look back. He drew in a sharp breath, tugging at Relena's arm urgently. "Relena, we have to hurry!"
Too shocked to respond, albeit move her legs, Relena allowed Heero to drag her forward, her eyes riveted on the wall of water rushing towards them. It was as if a dam had burst open, unable to contain the force it was holding. The wall of rain thundered towards them, tearing through the jungle like a demon, flashes of lightning coupling with rolls of thunder as it tagged along. Trees that at one point seemed unyielding, bowed to the power that swept over them, inching closer and closer to the pair rushing through the jungle with every second.
"We're too slow…" Relena whispered to herself as the wall came closer and closer. She could hear Heero's labored panting as he ran, "We can't outrun it." The sound was deafening, the smell of rain overpowering.
Heero pumped his legs, his hand tightening around Relena's wrists as he plunged forward, eyes locked on their destination. They were close…so very close to safety. It was less than a quarter mile away…
He cleanly leaped over a root, continuing forward, so intent on his target that his mind didn't register the gasp of pain or Relena's hand falling from his own.
"Heero!"
The Gundam Pilot froze in his tracks, turning back in time to see the wall of water swallow the fallen Relena up into its unrelenting mouth and rush towards him. He barely had time to call out her name before he was knockedfrom his feet by the awesome power of the same Mother Nature he'd underestimated before.
Heero struggled to his feet, the ground around him already a pit of mud. He was shocked to find the world around him now pitch black, the aide of city lights no longer there to help his human eyes. There was a flash of lightning, a temporary flash light to the dark and dangerous world. With each flash he would look around, trying to spot his missing charge.
"Relena!" he shouted out into the night, his voice swallowed up by the loud claps of thunder. She would never be able to hear him in this storm. He moved forward a few more paces with the next flash, calling her name again in a desperate search to locate her, eyes sweeping.
Had he gotten turned around? Oh hell…what if she'd moved? They'd never find each other! He had been her only hope of survival, her only protection against the elements, and he'd been so riveted on finding shelter for her that he'd forgotten about her. And now she could be lost in the Amazon, wandering it until she was either killed by some wild animal or died of starvation.
Damn it no…"Relena!"…this can't be happening…"Relena, can you hear me?"…I failed her…"Relena, say something!"…I'm such a damned fool!
There was another bright flash, illuminating the jungle before him, and for the briefest of moments, for one moment in time, he thanked the one man he'd never believed in until now…he sent out a silent prayer of thanks to God.
In that one flash, he'd seen her, head bowed against the torment of the rain. He moved towards her, stepping with each bright flash of lightning. By the time he'd reached her, the freezing rain had numbed him right down to his bones and he found himself shaking despite his vigorous training…and that made him all the more scared for Relena. The one of them who'd had no training whatsoever for the wicked elements.
He crouched down next to her, dropping the duffle bag and removing the jacket from around his shoulders, draping it over her shaking body. As the lightning flashed again, he looked down into her upturned face, the next flash revealing her red brimmed eyes.
He wanted to kick himself. Hard. Crying…You made her cry…
Pulling her leg free of the root that entrapped it, Heero gathered her into his arms and held her close, their cheeks touching. Even in the rain, she felt warm to the touch, a clear sign that if he didn't find that outcropping, and soon, she would fall sick. And to fall sick in the jungle, a place already riddled with disease, meant a most certain, and painful, death. He adjusted the duffle bag to sit more comfortingly against his back as he patiently waited for the next flash of lightning to give him direction. In his arms, Relena shifted, mumbling deliriously.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" he whispered, more to himself than her."Just hold on for me, Relena…"
Her arms tightened around his neck, her face snuggling closer into his neck, seeking much needed warmth. At the next flash and roll of thunder, Heero spied his destination, and quickly moved forward, head bowed against the whipping slashes of rain that fought to halt his procession through the jungle it was the current ruler of.
Slowly, step by step, he moved closer and closer, his clothing mere soaked rags hanging from his worn body. By the time he reached the rock hang, his body was threatening to collapse, his leg muscles throbbing from exertion. He leaned Relena against the stone wall beneath the rocks, pulling both jackets from her body and spreading them down on the jungle floor like a blanket. He gently pushed Relena onto the first jacket before pulling the other over her. He hesitated for a moment, watching as the shaking reduced to mere shivers, silently debating with himself as to whether or not he should try and warm her further.
What harm could it do?
He slowly lowered himself down next to her, brushing aside her soaking bangs in order to get a better look at her face. Lowering his head, he stared at her closed eyes before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. Tucking her head beneath his chin, he allowed himself a rare moment to enjoy her company. Absently, his hand began to rub up and down her back, a small smile flickering across his lips as her own hands came up to clutch the front of his shirt.
"Heero…love you…"
His smile vanished at the words, his lips parting slightly as he sucked in a sharp breath. He tightly closed his eyes, pressing her in closer to him. His hand came up to her hair, tangling itself in her honey yellow locks.
Relena...I know you do, but…
He shook his head, urging his body to rest.
Please…don't ask me for what I can't give…
Sleep slowly began to over take him, his tired body welcoming the much needed rest.
Don't ask me to love you…
You guys better be damn grateful to me! I should be relaxing, but no, I'm too busy writing for all of you. I expect some reviews for this…oh yes…I expect some reviews. Actually, if you must know, everything's going quite well right now, and I am enjoying myself. I just needed to finish this chapter and get it out. Don't expect another review until I come back from vacation, some time next week, alright? I'll try and get one out as soon as I can.
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