Chapter 14: From the freezer into the oven
Athrun did try to shoot at the windows and walls and found that it was just like Mr Amarfi said, they had been bullet-proved. Apparently this prison was prepared especially for him, Athrun didn't really mind being here. In fact, he liked Nicol's room, but being here made him nostalgic, the emptiness reminded him…that Nicol's not here anymore.
Having no choice, he decided to test out the prowess of his new temporary ally. He removed the chip from within his jacket, and cracked it in half; hoping Sedna is free and ready to help get him out.
The car pulled over in some bushes on a hill top that overlooked the mansion, and Yzak studied the geography of the place, a plan formulating in his head. As Sedna loaded her hand gun, Yzak turned and told her flatly, "You can put that down. Guns will be useless."
"Why?" she asked, clearly surprised.
"That idiot keeps a whole arsenal under his jacket; he probably tried out every single one on the windows already. Watch him go."
"If we can't hear anything from all that shooting, then the room must have been sound-proved. We need to get his attention, use this."
Yzak took over the item from Sedna's make-up kit and shouted, "BLUSHER!"
"Not so loud…" she berated him, "the only reason why I didn't park right in front of the mansion is because this place is probably under strict surveillance. You want the whole security crew to come pick you up? Keep it down."
"Okay…down…explain, blusher for what?"
She sighed and took the little box from Yzak, she opened it to reveal the mirrored surface within. "Watch and learn." She told him smugly.
Athrun wasn't about to give up, if guns don't work, brute force just might. He tried body slamming the windows but the attempts just left him sore and bruised. Shouting for help will be pointless too if even gunshots don't attract attention.
Slumping down on the bed, he rummaged his hair in frustration. Just then, a gleam of light above the hill top attracted his attention, it wavered like a candle light and shifted slightly every now and then. After studying the strange light for a while, he realized it was a mirror reflecting the evening sun and the one holding it, was Sedna, smiling like a lunatic.
He ran to the window, and watched as Sedna made funny gestures. First she imitated a hawk in flight, then looking through an eyehole.
Surveillance cameras…
He realized, and was surprised why didn't he think of that. What if he did something drastic in Nicol's room, Mr Amarfi will need to find out. He started examining every corner carefully and as expected, found security devices at almost every part of the room, all except the bathroom, and tried to act as if he didn't see them. He went to the window again and nodded, oddly enough, Sedna's smile was wider than ever. She next took a branch, and poked herself in the stomach, slumping to one side and sticking her tongue out.
Play dead?
This was getting atrocious, Athrun wanted to make sure if he was getting her right. For any mistake or miscommunication could be fatal, and he cursed himself for leaving his hand phone behind. With a finger, he drew an imaginary line across his neck and mouthed, die?
Sedna nodded furiously in response, and gave him a big thumbs-up before disappearing behind the bushes.
After thinking for a while, Athrun came up with a good way to accomplish what Sedna asked of him and he searched for a sharp object. Upon deciding that he will improvise with a shaver's razor, he locked himself in the bathroom.
"Please wait here, Mr Jule. Master will be here with you shortly." said the steward as Yzak entered the hall.
"Please tell Mr Amarfi to hurry, I am running short of time. Inform him, 'Yzak Jule is ready to answer.'"
"Certainly." The steward replied, bowing slightly, then took his leave after directing Yzak to a posh armchair. Nicol's room is on the second floor and Yzak decided he'll do some exploring and distracting. When no one's looking, he stood up and crept upstairs in the wake of the guy who just left.
For once, Yzak was grateful for coordinator's ultra sensitive hearing, he was able to identify Mr Amarfi's location by where the steward came and went from. And he heard familiar voices inside, he pressed his ear against the door and his heart skipped a beat when he realized, it was Ezaria Jule's voice.
"My son is probably here to tell you 'yes', he wouldn't disappoint me."
"Two years ago, he will not. But you must realize, Ezaria, he and Zala's son goes way back." Said a third voice that Yzak did not recognize.
"Athrun is in my residence now, and I'll keep him here till the Chairman post has been decided. Please just leave him to me, no need to kill him." Yulie Amarfi pleaded.
"Leave him? Yulie you must be getting senile. If it gets out that you imprisoned Athrun Zala, the Freedom and the Archangel will be burning this place to ashes. They are formidable enemies, not to mention Miss Altha and Miss Clyne. He has too many affiliations to be left alone, right my dear?" Ezaria said.
"Of course, political strongholds are important. Speaking of that, that son of yours is getting quite a mind of his own." The third voice said coldly.
Ezaria's reply was lazy, "Yzak will listen to what I tell him do, he's a simple boy. He does not know what he wants to do. No need to get angry over that silly boy."
"The agreement forged was that I give you freedom and you give me diplomatic support, now our agreement seems to be breaking up…"
"It wasn't totally my fault I was arrested in the first place! And Yzak's easy to convince, learn to make use of him. Make him believe Zala's son is something else, a hypocrite. An incident or two and the boy will be won over to your side. Lock Zala's son here, tell him something, anything. And without Yzak defending him, we'll have a clear shot. Bang, and he's gone."
"I wish it was that easy… But you're right about Yzak, he's the last link and the weakest. If I can't have him I'll break him in no time… coming to that, your hitter, is he good?" he questioned.
"One of my best and most trusted," Ezaria replied smugly. "No problems, even Yzak will succumb."
"Do it quick while Yzak's still in the hospital. That will make it much easier to explain." The person ordered.
"Your wish is my command."
A thousand thoughts raced through Yzak's mind now, the council was making use of him after all, he wasn't just being paranoid. And even Ezaria… she betrayed him, she sold him out to the council in exchange for her freedom. Yzak was just her tool, and was dispensable, so this time she commissioned someone to get rid of him. The revelation crushed him, and left him rooted to the spot. A ring tone penetrated his thoughts and someone in the room picked up the communication device, "Sir, we picked up some footages from the cameras in young master's room, blood was flowing out of bathroom mixed with water. I think Mr Zala just commited suicide. I've already sent someone there to investigate."
"He WHAT!" Mr Amarfi exclaimed and it was purely by reflex Yzak left as Mr Amarfi marched out of the room, bellowing, "I really didn't expect him to kill himself! Look, Ezaria I think you should go now. I 'll go downstairs and hear Young Jule out. As for you sir, I'll arrange for you to leave as well. I'll explain everything."
Athrun waited behind the bathroom door, and was glad to finally hear someone barging into the room, meaning his ruse worked. Their footsteps are heavy and noisy, meaning they are just stewards and not military trained. Good news him and bad news for them.
As the first person entered, Athrun whacked him in between the eyes. Aiming to disarm and not kill and did the same with the rest, he searched the belt of the fallen servants and found one full set of seven card keys. Pocketing it, he ran out and began using guns.
Yzak had to pretend he had been sitting there obediently for the past fifteen minutes, and he had to buy time for Athrun to find Sedna. As Mr Amarfi descended down the stairs, he stood up and put on the most friendly face he could manage.
"Mr Amarfi, pleased to meet you."
"You can call me Uncle, no need to be so formal. And Yzak, aren't you supposed to be staying in the hospital, why come all the way to answer me? I'd rather you rested and think about it for a few more days."
"Thank you for your concern, but…" Yzak groped for a way to get past that question. "I've thought carefully, and I cannot find rest till I can settle this issue." He lied smoothly.
"Really," sighed Mr Amarfi, leaning back on the sofa. "Let's get to the point then. What do you think of the proposal this morning?"
Uh-oh, wrong move…Mr Amarfi would want to settle Yzak as quickly as possible and go investigate Athrun, Yzak cannot allow that, he needed to give Athrun at least ten more minutes. Cursing inwardly, he decided there was no harm lying again; he had to drag the conversation.
"Firstly…I want to thank you for asking me that, I understand that it was done out of genuine concern. Another issue is…about Nicol…"
"What about Nicol?" Mr Amarfi asked, sitting up.
For the next ten minutes, Yzak talked rot. All the while keeping a straight face, he had as little interest in his speech as Mr Amarfi but he forced himself to continue humiliating himself. He had to make him believe he was getting to the point, but one pseudo-climax led to the next and nothing was established. When he estimated ten minutes has passed, he drove straight into the point.
"All I meant to say is…I refuse."
"Excuse me. Would you mind repeating that? You…"
"I refuse to join your alliance, I'd agree that you will make a fine Chairman, in fact, I'm inclined to believe anyone currently in the Supreme Council will make a far more experienced Chairman. However, this time the circumstances didn't allow me to come to that conclusion."
"What circumstances?"
"Assasination." Yzak said in a low voice, "Kidnapping and such, I've a hunch these will befall anyone who opposes the Supreme Council. I can no longer be oblivious to all these, Mr Amarfi." Yzak stood up and bowed slightly. "I thank you for all the guidance and aid since I entered the senate, and for bringing me this far. I'm like you apprentice, but for this once, I'm sorry to say I wouldn't be of any use to you. I'd support whom I can believe, and Athrun Zala is one such person. That's all I have to say, farewell."
Mr Amarfi looked shell shocked as Yzak turned to leave, but did not call him back.
Sedna listened carefully, when she heard that there was no one outside, she sighed in relief "Phew," now all she needed to do was tofind Athrun and smuggle him out right under their noses, assuming he managed to get himself out. She tensed up as she heard the sound of someone's footsteps outside the garage, each step was light and deliberate, meaning it was a trained fighter. She readied her gun, to fire if any one discovers her real motive.
"Isn't this…Sedna's car?" Said the voice. She was relieved to finally identify the voice.
"Mr Zala," she said as she popped her head out of the window, "You made it."
"Miss Ileisus, why are wearing a man's jacket?"
"Mine's torn, and I'm pretending to be Yzak's chauffeur at the moment, hide yourself quick. Yzak should be back about now." She said as she popped open the car boot, Athrun nodded and climbed in, pulling it shut. Yzak was back not a moment too soon and they drove out.
"That was sweet!" Sedna cheered as she unlocked the car boot. They took the road behind the hill and Athrun got out of the boot and climbed into the back seat through the window. "No kidding." He agreed. "I thought I'll be stuck in there forever."
"Why would…Mr Amarfi want to trap you?" Sedna asked.
"…He said…it was for my own safety…" he turned to Yzak who appeared in deep pensive, "Because my life belongs to Nicol."
Yzak did not respond, he didn't even seem to hear. Athrun thought it was odd, for Yzak would be the first to reprimand him, now he's so quiet, so unusually silent. Sedna waved a hand in front of Yzak's face, "WHAT?" he snapped, making Sedna jump.
"You scared me…what were you thinking about?"
"It was nothing…" he lied immediately, and felt a bit guilty. Two years in politics taught him nothing but how to lie and act. But he didn't know how to tell her, or anyone else. My mother wants to kill me, what should I do? That sounded …wrong. He wanted to tell someone… he wanted to get it off his chest. He looked up to catch Athrun and Sedna both gazing intently at him, and the most atrocious thought occurred to him.
What if they were just trying to make use of me, just like my mother…
The notion was absurd, and refused to entertain it. He frowned and remained silent, just as a gunshot sounded behind him.
Murrue walked alongside the teacher, who was introducing her to the facilities of the Junius Orphanage. And stopped outside a green room, she led Murrue inside and all the children gazed at her as she entered. Meandering through the crowd, the teacher brought her to one boy, his hair brown and his eyes coffee, just like his mother.
"This," the teacher told Murrue, "It Mr Spencer Gladys. He's all yours."
The three of them whipped around to see three military vehicles in their wake, and they are firing at the car. Sedna immediately reacted by driving in an S-shaped pattern at reckless speeds, throwing the occupants off their feet. "SEDNA, ARE you trying to KILL US!" Yzak shouted as he caught the gun Athrun threw him.
"JUST focus on steering, don't panic, don't worry about us!" Athrun shouted over the roar of the straining engines and wind, for she wound down the windows. They have to be able to retaliate if they were to have any chances of survival, and the two guys took a gun each, aiming and shooting out of each backseat window.
"Mr Amarfi must have sent them!" Sedna shouted, narrowly avoiding death for the umpteenth time as she steered clear of the fence. The next stretch of road up ahead was a narrow bridge over a valley and the other side is a mountain, and it was going to get tricky.
"HOLD ON!" she shouted as the car mounted the platform onto the bridge, Athrun and Yzak each manage to hit the wheel of one vehicle, leaving the occupants stranded and hence only one manage to follow them all the way.
Between flashes when his gun fire, Yzak's mind was racing, something wasn't right.
If Amarfi wants him dead, he wouldn't have survived the trip to the mansion. And it just isn't Mr Amarfi's style to use such a flamboyant method of sending hunters. Furthermore, if a quiet assassination is needed, it wouldn't be done in front of Sedna. Finally, the people chasing them don't carry the Faith emblem…then who exactly are they? It made Yzak conclude that there was foul play involved.
Athrun was a proud marksman, and seemed to require no effort to keep up that reputation. For an instant, Yzak just looked hard at Athrun, thinking the missing pieces must lie in something he never told Yzak…
Sedna tried to keep an eye out for the two guys and focusing on the road. Fortunately it was quite empty, so if anyone had to report to Hades it would be just the three of them, Haha. It was a relief that there were only a few more enemies, killing is Athrun's business. But just as she thought victory was imminent, Yzak did something unexpected, he just spaced out and glare at Athrun as if he suddenly thought of something. The soldier in the vehicle still chasing them took the moment of weakness, and to her horror she saw in her rearview mirror, him target locking onto Yzak. Sedna had to make a decision in that split-second, the car is hugging the extreme left of the road. If she went right, the bullet will surely hit Yzak, but if she went left, they will fall off the cliff and become pancakes and there was also a very high chance that Athrun, who is half hanging out of the right window will smash into the fences and die faster. Without further deliberating, she turned…
As the car jerked, Athrun had to focus to keep his shots steady. But something disrupted his concentration, a bullet singed past him harmlessly, or so he thought. For it coincidentally severed the metal chain securing Cagalli's amulet to his neck and out of the corner of his vision, he saw it whipping past. Without thinking, he threw himself out of the car after it…just as Sedna made the left turn. The resulting effect was that he did not die smashing into the fence, but the three of them tumbled into the abyss beneath for possibly another nice, quick death.
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eh…I feel sadistic, so how's that? Help's coming, lotsa enemies, lotsa allies too.