Jungle Rot

By: Wildfire Sky

Whoot! FINALLY! AT LAST! My fic has been put into a C2! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment? Quite a while. Since review number 20 actually…so thanks to "Battered Wings", it's appreciated. Very much so.

Oh yea…the rest of you are welcome to jump on the band wagon too…any time now…

Jungle Rot

Chapter Eight

Lieutenant Becan leaned back against the vibrating walls of the transport helicopter, one of two of the only working helicopters at the Buenos Aires Preventer division that were ready for immediate use. He sat on the lip of the helicopter's door, watching as his subordinates loaded supplies on the other copper and checked their own equipment. They seemed carefree, the men embarking on this most important expedition into the middle of nowhere, but he could tell that inside they were all anxious about it. This wasn't some simple riot control or terrorist intervention job; two important lives were at stake…lives that each soldier knew, whether it was one or the other, personally.

"Lieutenant." Becan looked up, his eyes sliding over towards the pilot who was pointing at his headset. "You have an incoming message, sir. It's from Special Agent Maxwell."

Becan blinked, removing the headset by the door and placing it over his head. "Becan."

"Hey there, lieutenant, just making sure you hadn't left without us!" Duo's voice came through loud and clear, despite the hum of the warming engines of the helicopter.

Again, Becan blinked, an eyebrow raised. "Excuse me, sir, 'us'?"

"Special Agent Chang and I will be accompanying you into the Amazon. Hope there's no problem with that."

Straightening, Becan frowned. "It's not necessary, sir. My unit can easily…"

"Good! Then it's settled. See you in a few minutes."

The connection ended, leaving Becan in a confused daze. What the hell just happened? Suddenly he was taking on two more? Maxwell he knew was in the area, but Chang was supposed to be tied up at Central and commanding the mission from there. How in the world was he able to gain permission from Commander Une, arrange a flight, actually make the five-hour flight, and then get here before his team departed, was completely beyond him. Strings, no doubt, had been pulled.

"Any problem, sir?" The pilot asked, his sunglasses preventing Becan from seeing his eyes.

Becan shook his head and leaned towards the pilot, yelling over the noise of the helicopter engines. "Do we have room for two more on board?"

The pilot and co-pilot glanced at each other before the pilot responded. "Two more, lieutenant? As in two more passengers? Well, sure we do, but our flight authorization doesn't cover any extras…"

"Don't worry, you're covered." Without a doubt they were, although Maxwell could become extremely cocky and reckless, it was rare that he put the careers of fellow agents on the line before his own. "The agents will be here in a few minutes, are we ready to fly?"

"As soon as they're on board, sir." The pilot grinned, "Both coppers are loaded and ready for your command."

Glowering, Becan glanced at the roof door as it opened, revealing Wufei and Duo. He turned back to the pilot. "Agents Chang and Maxwell will be taking command once we take flight…"

"Whoa now!" Duo exclaimed, grinning brightly as he ducked inside the body of the helicopter along with Wufei. "We're not here to take anything, just to have a little fun. It's pretty boring here, and besides, I hear the Amazon is beautiful in the rainy season."

The pilot laughed heartily. "Beautiful, eh? Spoken like a true tourist."

As Wufei settled into his seat next to the other members, he looked at the pilot. "What do you mean?"

"The Amazon is a water wasteland right now, sir." Becan replied for the pilot as the man maneuvered the large machine from the rooftop, the second quickly following. "The only reason you might think it's beautiful is because of aerial pictures. Once you're on the ground, you're going to hate it. Bugs, snakes, really big cats, not to mention it's dark…" Becan glanced at their outfits, "Good thing you knew what to wear."

The co-pilot looked back. "Sirs, this flight will take approximately four to six hours before we're over the known crash site, and that's without refueling. Make yourselves comfortable."

"Four to six hours?" Duo exclaimed. "Why so long?"

The co-pilot shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, sir. These choppers haven't been equipped with the new engines yet. If we had them, the trip would be just under three hours, but as it is, the rebel forces are still too active to risk shipment quite yet."

Becan let a small smile cross his face as Duo flopped back, his arms crossed in a pout. Wufei calmly observed his sulking partner with complete indifference. He looked up at the sound of clinking metal, his eyes scanning over the assault rifle Becan held out to him.

"Newest jungle model, sir." Becan said as Wufei and Duo took the weapons, "They're configured especially for the jungle environment. The dampness won't make it jam, or worse, backfire on you. You can sit in a river for half and hour with that thing completely unprotected, and it will perform like you had it on dry land. Special models have a built in grenade launcher and night vision built into the scope. Real beauty, right?"

Duo exchanged a look with Wufei. "Uh…yea, sure."

"Will there be a problem crossing air space when we enter Brazil?" Wufei asked, settling his weapon against the helicopter wall. "We don't have any Preventer bases in that area yet."

The co-pilot looked back again. "Nor will it ever. The Brazilians can be remarkably stubborn when it comes to foreign involvement in their county's affairs." He grinned brightly, "Not to worry though sir, their radar is so primitive, we'll probably look like a flock of birds to them."

Wufei snorted lightly and leaned back against the helicopter sides, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. "I certainly hope so. The last thing we need is for two parties to go missing…"

Heero grated his teeth together as he sloshed through the waist high water of the swampy land that at one time had been an open plain. He unconsciously heard Relena's labored breathing, most likely tired from the long walk through the jungle and now through this. In all honestly, this expedition wasn't easy on him either, some reasons more obvious than others, but he had to keep on a brave face for the woman behind him. Holding his gun above his head to keep it dry, Heero's deep eyes swept the surrounding waters, well aware of the dangers that might lurk in the muddy depths.

There was a cry and a splash, causing Heero to tense in surprise before he turned. A wet, and miserable looking, Relena looked up at him from between soaked bangs. He stared down at her for a moment, before letting out a strained sigh and offering his hand. With timid embarrassment, Relena took it, let out a small gasp of surprise as Heero bodily lifted her from the water and catching her off balance. She hit warm flesh, suddenly finding her face pressed up against Heero's hard chest. A furious blush crossing her face, Relena slowly looked up, drowning in a sea of cold, endless blue. Even though they were waist deep in dark, muddy water and vegetation, she found herself enraptured by his piercing stare. It was Heero would make the first move, taking a step back and casually examining her. Suddenly, Relena felt very cold inside as he observed her like a rancher at some livestock show.

"Is there a problem Agent Yuy?"

Heero's eyes came back up to her face, an eyebrow quirking in question. Relena smiled inside. That's right…you know you're in trouble mister…

Snorting to himself, Heero's attention turned to the gun in his hand, checking that it was still dry. "Just making sure you didn't sprain anything."

Relena blinked. Sprain? I tripped in the water, Heero; I didn't fall off a bridge! "I'm fine, thank you for your concern."

"That's my job."

At that, Relena's breath hitched in her throat, her bright eyes turning dark with anger. After everything…everything that's happened between them…after that kiss he's going to act so detached from her. 'That's my job'? Was he purposely trying to rip out her heart and crush it beneath those damn boots he always wore? Any normal woman would have easily recognized this. Heero was a grade-A, pureblood, no sales tax included, one hundred and ten percent…total asshole. And the fact that she was in love with one hurt even more…

Heero watched her face for a moment, silently regretting what he'd just said. He hadn't meant to do it, honestly, but for some reason, the moment he opened his mouth the words spilled through like oil. He wondered why he was so anguished at Relena's reaction; it wasn't like he'd done anything before to refute the universal opinion that he was a jerk to everyone, including the former Queen of the World. Duo had put it to him honestly and bluntly when they'd gone drinking together one night.

"Nobody really likes you."

Nobody, of course, excluded the other pilots and Relena…at least Heero hoped so. He was pretty sure the team held a very high tolerance for him, but he hadn't cared about their opinions until Duo had said that in all seriousness. Apparently, the other Preventers used up their free time making fun of him and his stern attitude with occasional contests of who-can-play-a-tight-ass-the-best.

Taking a deep breath and lowering his eyes in what he hoped looked like a humbled gesture; he ground out the two words he hated saying the most. "I'm…sorry."

He felt more than saw Relena's head lift up. "What?" she whispered, stared at his bowed head. She wasn't sure she'd heard right from the dark glare he was sending towards the water.

Heero lifted his head slightly, and looked into her eyes. "I said, that I was sorry…"

"For what?" Relena felt her heart soar. Maybe, finally, he was turning over a new leaf and trying to be kind to another human being for once in his life.

Heero took a deep breath, standing straight and staring down at her. "I'm sorry for---"

Relena let out a terrified scream as the water around them suddenly exploded releasing the long demon that had lurked beneath the surface for so long. Heero seemed to fly back, his own yell of surprise tearing out as his body was dragged beneath the water, the gun flying from his hands and landing amongst the floating shrubbery. Frozen, Relena could only stare in horror at the spot where Heero disappeared, willing the waters to part.

"Relena!"

Water sprayed her back and he young politician spun, her eyes wide as Heero surfaced from behind, her name ripping from his mouth even as the thick body wrapped around him slowly tried to crush his thin body. Relena was splashing towards him, her arms pumping in a dismaying effort to move faster, even as the large head lifted from the liquid slime, long fangs gleaming as its mouth opened and released a predatory hiss of victory.

"Heero!" Relena cried, even as the anaconda's head snapped towards her, its tongue flicking out to taste the growing fear and death in the air. Heero's eyes were shut tight against the pain, his jaw clenched as the enormous snake's body constricted even tighter around him, completely immobilizing the seemingly invincible Gundam pilot.

As she moved through the water, her hand hit something hard amongst the weeds. Unconsciously she snatched at it, bringing the weapon to bear against the lord of snakes. The anaconda seemed to laugh at her as its mouth opened again and hissed at the pathetic looking weapon in her hands. Relena had seen enough nature shows to know what she was facing, even in this panicked moment she knew that anacondas were capable of taking down a full grown animal bigger than it easily…she'd watched amazed as the snake swallowed fierce wild cats, fighting boars, anything and everything it could ensnare.

And she, a simple, scared human, was going up against it with a stick.

Heero cried out again as the snake moved, his eyes snapping open and mouth wide as he gasped for air. Relena didn't notice the once slightly murky water become dark and red.

Blood trickled from Heero's mouth.

Leonardo stared at the passing growth below with an uncaring eye, his search concentrated on something besides the deceitful beauty of the treetops and nature. Flocks of white, long necked birds took to flight as the helicopter passed over their feeding grounds in the newly created swamps; entire trees housed families of colorful macaws and parrots that nestled with the branches; four legged animals dashed across open ground, trying to escape this new intruder to their once peaceful world. To anyone but a seasoned explorer, this land would have looked like paradise, but the fact that even after hundreds of years it remained uninhabited and greatly uncharted was evidence enough to its dangerous motives. It was truly a jungle of death.

Leonardo slammed a loaded clip into his handgun. He didn't need much more than the handgun at his side, but for the sake of preparation, he'd brought along a simple hunting rifle. Massimo and Roberto were armed similarly, although Massimo had declined the use of firearms and took up a machete. Dressed for the jungle in full camouflage gear and boots, they could move in, kill the Minister and her protection and leave. Depending on how long it took to find them, the whole operation would be completed in a matter of hours.

"Leonardo." Whetstone pointed at the headset and Leonardo quickly put it on. "There's an area of disturbed foliage ahead, looks like a crash site."

Leonardo nodded, speaking through the microphone at his lips. "Circle it a few times and look for any signs of life."

"No problem."

The helicopter dipped low, the treetops rushing towards them for a heart stopping moment before the chopper leveled out and the destroyed area came into view. Tilting slightly, the helicopter moved around the now open area in a tight circle, giving the occupants a prime view of below. Leonardo lifted his rifle, staring at the ground through the scope.

"I don't see anyone down there…" He increased the power, sweeping the ground, "The rain's washed away any traces of footprints."

Whetstone nodded at the ground. "Looks to me like the plane broke apart. See? The cockpit's a few yard away from the main body and the tail is gone."

"Oh Christ." Leonardo mumbled to himself. "It's the tail that has the Preventer's tracking beacon in it. If it's not destroyed then the rescue team will know exactly where they are."

Whetstone smirked at him, his eye twinkling. "Then I guess we'd better hurry up and find her, huh? With this crazy weather, they couldn't have gotten far."

There was a tap on Leonardo's shoulder, causing the man to turn and face Massimo. The large man was holding a black rectangular box, the radar device, his finger pointing to the radar. "We're picking up a signal from the beacon the pilot had on his clothing." Massimo said in smooth Italian, "It's about three miles away from this location."

Leonardo blessed his good-luck and quick thinking. Putting a tracing device on the pilot had just been a spur of the moment decision, mostly to satisfy his paranoid master. The man had been utterly convinced that the pilot would run off with Dorlain and sell her to one of the many rebel groups, so he had Leonardo put a device on the pilot's clothes. It seemed at the time, a pointless thing, but now it was indeed becoming useful.

He turned to the pilot. "Take us to within a mile of them, I don't want to be seen."

Whetstone nodded and the helicopter veered off away from the crash site and towards the center of the Amazon jungle. Leonardo impatiently prepped himself for extraction, hoping in the back of his mind that the Minister was still in good health. He planned to make both her and her little lap dog suffer before killing them.

In the distance, the jungle opened up and the helicopter began to slow, lowering even closer to the jungle top. As Leonardo lowered the jump cable, he grinned to himself. For the first time since the war, God was finally smiling down on him.

There you go! Another chapter out. Sounds to me like the Preventers have a small time problem on their hands. How am I gonna do this? I dunno quite yet…

As for the folks reviewing my grammar and such, thanks a bunch for bringing me attention to it. In fact, some of your suggestions were ones I was considering, but was too lazy to do anything about it. I think my next update will be revisions of the chapters, so that will come up pretty quick, and then I'll submit Chapter Nine.

If you're a fan of The Guardian, that update is coming up pretty soon, so keep an eye out for it!