Disclaimer: I don't own gundam wing.. Wish I did!
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lizzy overslept. She was in fact surprised that she had slept at all. It was quiet. In fact it was too damn quiet. Where was everybody?, she asked herself. Looking at her watch, it was already 2 in the afternoon. It actually surprised her also that Quatre hadn't tried to wake her up for breakfast or lunch.
She then got up and went to shower first and tried to block out all the negative thoughts and events that happened in the past week. Just as she was to go down to have a meal, she noticed that her laptop was blinking. It meant she has a mission ..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Have you figured it out yet Heero?" Duo asked. They were all in the living room looking both at Quatre and Heero's laptop trying to decipher the code. Trowa had explained to them a few days back that all they found out in their last mission was a single disk with the secret codes. Dr J had instructed them to just get the codes and transfer it to them. But being gundam pilots, they would want to know what it also meant. It could lead them to the next plans of Oz.
Seeing that Heero wasn't responding, Duo turned his attention to Wufei who was busy sharpening his katana. The Chinese man had no patience with deciphering codes. "Hey Wufei, just how did you get this data?"
"It was the only thing that was left in the abandoned warehouse," Wufei explained.
"It was as if," Trowa started, "it was left on purpose."
Quatre nodded. "Yes, considering the circumstances. Someone wants this code to be found. But do they want 'us' gundam pilots to find it?"
"Whatever it is," Duo said, "it definitely is a trap."
Heero just remained silent. It was very unusual for Oz to have this kind of cryptic code. He was very challenged at the moment and he will not back down until he finds out what it means.
Just then, they heard a motorcycle came to life. It could only mean that Lizzy was going away again on a mission. They were so intent in decoding the message that they didn't noticed that Lizzy had gone down on the hangar. She left without saying a word to any of them which was so unusual. Most of the times if not always, she will leave a message to Duo and Quatre as to her whereabouts so that in case something happens to her, they will know where to find or rescue her.
"You don't think she left us permanently don't you?" Duo voiced out. Even though he was so angry at her these past days, she was a very dear friend to him.
"If she does left us Duo," Quatre said without looking at Duo, "it will be your entire fault!" He still had his eyes glued on his laptop with Trowa beside him. Duo was with Heero and Wufei was behind Duo and Heero.
Duo's ears twitched. It was a sign that he was starting to get annoyed again. But he tried to keep his cool but surprisingly asked Quatre, "So why did you kiss her anyway Quatre?"
That seemed to have frozen all gundam pilots. Wufei stopped what he was doing and all pilots were waiting for Quatre to answer.
"It still doesn't explain why you tried to rape her Duo!" Quatre answered back.
"I didn't rape her Quatre," Duo defended himself. "I was simply drugged because I took so many pills and I mistook the tequila as water okay?"
"What a lame excuse!" Quatre said.
Duo stood up. He is fed up with all the accusations Quatre was throwing at him. "Oh yeah? And what about you Quatre, what are your reasons for kissing Lizzy?"
Quatre then faced him seeing he is all riled up but he kept his cool. "I like her."
Duo was shocked. He wasn't expecting Quatre to admit it .. To admit it in front of Trowa.
But he was even more shocked when Quatre said, "And I think I'm falling in love with her. I think those are valid reasons for kissing a girl Duo."
Duo was too shocked to say anything. But then Trowa asked Quatre, "Do you think she loves you too?"
It was obvious that Quatre can't look straight into Trowa's eyes. But he answered him, "I don't know."
Duo laughed. It wasn't a funny laugh but a sarcastic one. "Oh don't be so gullible Quatre. She returned the favor right? I saw her clinging onto you. If I haven't fallen down the stairs, both of you would have done it right on the living room!"
"You're wrong Duo!" Quatre countered. "She doesn't really like me. I always felt that she puts a wall between us everytime I get near her. It was as if she is afraid of me. Afraid of being near me. But that was the only time that I actually tried to break down that wall."
"Oh, I'm so sorry high and mighty Winner that I have broken that special moment!"
"I don't understand why you are so damn angry with me in the first place! What's the matter Duo, you found out that Lizzy only liked you as a friend?" Quatre taunted.
Duo tried not to facefault at that. He knew Quatre was dense sometimes but not that dense! It was so tempting to shout on his face that he is in love with him all this time. But instead, he said, "I give up," and went upstairs.
"Where do you think you're going baka?" Heero asked with a glare.
Without turning back, Duo answered, "Grab a snack and see if Quatre's girlfriend left a note or something."
"Hmm," Wufei said. "Speaking of which, what is that damn onna up to?"
No one answered. But Wufei, Heero and Trowa now knows what happened between Lizzy, Duo and Quatre. It was a complicated love triangle. They also know that Duo is in some way in love with Lizzy also though he tries to deny it. If he doesn' t love or at least fancy Lizzy, Duo would have simply killed her and that would make life simple. Duo always like it simple. But he didn't this time. He chose to play with Quatre and Lizzy's feelings which was also hurting him in the process.
The only thing that remains to be uncovered now was what happened between Heero and Lizzy. They all know it will be very difficult considering Heero is not some sort of a kiss and tell person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in the other side of the colony, Lizzy entered a pub and went to a secluded room. It led to a secret hideout in the basement. It used to be an old drainage pipeline but is now house or home to many poor residents of the colony. Lizzy's heart goes out to them. She hates seeing all the suffering because of the stupid war.
Then she found her target. Dr Reeds was dressed as one of them with his mouth covered by a piece of cloth. Lizzy too had a cloth covering her mouth. Most people underground has them because you can get sick just by inhaling the air there. So many people dying everyday of cholera and pneumonia because of no water and poor ventilation. All of them are dying. You can smell death everywhere.
Lizzy then knew that Dr Reeds' mission has something to do with the secret code she has. The gundam scientists seem to think that it was too top secret that they have to meet her in such places to be away from the eyes of Oz. Plus the fact that they have to send Dr Reeds personally.
She settled beside the good doctor and said with much delight, "It is so good to see you back Doctor." He was like a father to her.
"No time for chit-chat," he said without taking his eyes off the ground. "I want to know what the codes mean."
She was silent for a moment. She doesn't know how to break the news to the Doctor. But she wondered what would be his reaction when he finds out.
"I don't have that much time," the doctor said impatiently.
She sighed. Like the doctor she just stared at the ground and said, "The codes were meant for me. It said: For my dear Lara Perkins, it was nice seeing you the other day in the base. Too bad you have joined the gundam pilots. But soon we will meet. The pilots will lead me to you. They've just delivered this message to you. It was signed by Kenji. Looks like Kenji was in the base after all when Heero and I rescued Duo. He saw me and he recognized me."
After that, both of them were quiet. Then the Dr said, "You do know that Kenji will use that to set the pilots against you right?"
She sighed again and nodded her head. "Yeah I know. He will use anything to catch me and the pilots."
"So what do you plan to do? You're life is now in danger especially if the pilots find out you used to be an Oz."
"I know that. They might actually forgive me for the fact that I used to be an Oz soldier but I doubt if .." She can't continue. She was about to say something about Quatre and his father but she felt like throwing up. Just thinking about it made her dizzy.
"Doubt if what?" the Dr wants to know.
So she told him gently, "Q might not be that forgiving if he finds out I too am responsible in getting his father killed."
"I thought we talked about this before." The Dr said in low tones. "He killed himself and it wasn't your fault. You were merely assigned to track him down. It was the others who really killed him."
"I don't know Dr," Lizzy said so unsure of herself, "I could have done something like I did with the others. I could have misled them thus saving his father but I didn't. I tracked him down and -" she stopped and blinked back the tears that was trying to fall down. She doesn't want to remember the past. It always hurt her to think of those events. She also knew that Quatre had gone berserk that time and used the Zero system that nearly destroyed a colony.
"I must go. I'll see what I can do to prevent the pilots from knowing it. That is, if you don't really want them to know. The choice is yours."
Does she really want to tell them? .. Then she shook her head. "I can't let them know it yet." Then the Dr stood up and left her. She followed soon afterwards. She doesn't feel like going home now..
Home. It was so ironic. How could she consider their hideout as home? She should be running away from them. She should have just remained a civilian in the first place! Going home to the gundam pilots? She is so sure her parents will be horrified. The gundam pilots are feared so much by every people and nation because of the destruction they bring. You don't really want to be near them considering they are the world's top dangerous people.
Pushing out her reverie, she became alarm when she noticed three bikers who are tailing behind her. She dropped her visor and speed up her bike. She wants to know for sure if she was being tailed or not.
After a few minutes, it was confirmed. She is being tailed. She can't possibly go back to the hideout now. She has to loose them. She also tried to keep her calm when they started shooting at her. Though this isn't the first time she was tailed, she felt that those behind her were no normal Oz soldiers, if they really are from Oz.
But fate was not on her side. Just as she was to turn around a corner that will bring her freedom, some old man was trying to cross the street. That led her to sharply swing her bike to the other side but that move made her lose control and she skidded to an approaching car. She catapult and tried to make a soft landing but she crashed into the top of a ten-wheeler truck. It somehow made a soft landing but knew that her right arm was badly beaten. She tried to get up as quickly as possible considering the three bikers were still after her. She jumped off the truck and headed for the nearby houses. She ran as fast as she could. She just hoped she can outrun them considering she's badly hurt.
Just when she thought she can safely hide by crossing the bridge, she heard a bike roared over her head and landed a few meters away from her. The driver seemed to have used the upper roadway to catch up with her. The biker was looking straight at her. She felt that she was going to die. If she run, she will be shot at immediately considering the proximity and the open space. The bridge was behind the biker. If only she could get past the biker, she can risk her life jumping off the bridge.
Lizzy's mind was racing and she was praying for a miracle to happen. Her heart was thumping so loudly she felt her veins are going to explode in any minute. She hasn't been caught in this kind of situation before. Her breath was ragged. To make matters worse, the two other bikers have caught up with them and were waiting behind her.
Just then, the biker in front of her removed his helmet. Lizzy almost choked. She knew the guy. His eyes, his hair.. How could she not forget ..
"Hello there Lara. It is so nice to meet you again." The other man was grinning maniacally at her.
"Kenji," she whispered.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lizzy overslept. She was in fact surprised that she had slept at all. It was quiet. In fact it was too damn quiet. Where was everybody?, she asked herself. Looking at her watch, it was already 2 in the afternoon. It actually surprised her also that Quatre hadn't tried to wake her up for breakfast or lunch.
She then got up and went to shower first and tried to block out all the negative thoughts and events that happened in the past week. Just as she was to go down to have a meal, she noticed that her laptop was blinking. It meant she has a mission ..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Have you figured it out yet Heero?" Duo asked. They were all in the living room looking both at Quatre and Heero's laptop trying to decipher the code. Trowa had explained to them a few days back that all they found out in their last mission was a single disk with the secret codes. Dr J had instructed them to just get the codes and transfer it to them. But being gundam pilots, they would want to know what it also meant. It could lead them to the next plans of Oz.
Seeing that Heero wasn't responding, Duo turned his attention to Wufei who was busy sharpening his katana. The Chinese man had no patience with deciphering codes. "Hey Wufei, just how did you get this data?"
"It was the only thing that was left in the abandoned warehouse," Wufei explained.
"It was as if," Trowa started, "it was left on purpose."
Quatre nodded. "Yes, considering the circumstances. Someone wants this code to be found. But do they want 'us' gundam pilots to find it?"
"Whatever it is," Duo said, "it definitely is a trap."
Heero just remained silent. It was very unusual for Oz to have this kind of cryptic code. He was very challenged at the moment and he will not back down until he finds out what it means.
Just then, they heard a motorcycle came to life. It could only mean that Lizzy was going away again on a mission. They were so intent in decoding the message that they didn't noticed that Lizzy had gone down on the hangar. She left without saying a word to any of them which was so unusual. Most of the times if not always, she will leave a message to Duo and Quatre as to her whereabouts so that in case something happens to her, they will know where to find or rescue her.
"You don't think she left us permanently don't you?" Duo voiced out. Even though he was so angry at her these past days, she was a very dear friend to him.
"If she does left us Duo," Quatre said without looking at Duo, "it will be your entire fault!" He still had his eyes glued on his laptop with Trowa beside him. Duo was with Heero and Wufei was behind Duo and Heero.
Duo's ears twitched. It was a sign that he was starting to get annoyed again. But he tried to keep his cool but surprisingly asked Quatre, "So why did you kiss her anyway Quatre?"
That seemed to have frozen all gundam pilots. Wufei stopped what he was doing and all pilots were waiting for Quatre to answer.
"It still doesn't explain why you tried to rape her Duo!" Quatre answered back.
"I didn't rape her Quatre," Duo defended himself. "I was simply drugged because I took so many pills and I mistook the tequila as water okay?"
"What a lame excuse!" Quatre said.
Duo stood up. He is fed up with all the accusations Quatre was throwing at him. "Oh yeah? And what about you Quatre, what are your reasons for kissing Lizzy?"
Quatre then faced him seeing he is all riled up but he kept his cool. "I like her."
Duo was shocked. He wasn't expecting Quatre to admit it .. To admit it in front of Trowa.
But he was even more shocked when Quatre said, "And I think I'm falling in love with her. I think those are valid reasons for kissing a girl Duo."
Duo was too shocked to say anything. But then Trowa asked Quatre, "Do you think she loves you too?"
It was obvious that Quatre can't look straight into Trowa's eyes. But he answered him, "I don't know."
Duo laughed. It wasn't a funny laugh but a sarcastic one. "Oh don't be so gullible Quatre. She returned the favor right? I saw her clinging onto you. If I haven't fallen down the stairs, both of you would have done it right on the living room!"
"You're wrong Duo!" Quatre countered. "She doesn't really like me. I always felt that she puts a wall between us everytime I get near her. It was as if she is afraid of me. Afraid of being near me. But that was the only time that I actually tried to break down that wall."
"Oh, I'm so sorry high and mighty Winner that I have broken that special moment!"
"I don't understand why you are so damn angry with me in the first place! What's the matter Duo, you found out that Lizzy only liked you as a friend?" Quatre taunted.
Duo tried not to facefault at that. He knew Quatre was dense sometimes but not that dense! It was so tempting to shout on his face that he is in love with him all this time. But instead, he said, "I give up," and went upstairs.
"Where do you think you're going baka?" Heero asked with a glare.
Without turning back, Duo answered, "Grab a snack and see if Quatre's girlfriend left a note or something."
"Hmm," Wufei said. "Speaking of which, what is that damn onna up to?"
No one answered. But Wufei, Heero and Trowa now knows what happened between Lizzy, Duo and Quatre. It was a complicated love triangle. They also know that Duo is in some way in love with Lizzy also though he tries to deny it. If he doesn' t love or at least fancy Lizzy, Duo would have simply killed her and that would make life simple. Duo always like it simple. But he didn't this time. He chose to play with Quatre and Lizzy's feelings which was also hurting him in the process.
The only thing that remains to be uncovered now was what happened between Heero and Lizzy. They all know it will be very difficult considering Heero is not some sort of a kiss and tell person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in the other side of the colony, Lizzy entered a pub and went to a secluded room. It led to a secret hideout in the basement. It used to be an old drainage pipeline but is now house or home to many poor residents of the colony. Lizzy's heart goes out to them. She hates seeing all the suffering because of the stupid war.
Then she found her target. Dr Reeds was dressed as one of them with his mouth covered by a piece of cloth. Lizzy too had a cloth covering her mouth. Most people underground has them because you can get sick just by inhaling the air there. So many people dying everyday of cholera and pneumonia because of no water and poor ventilation. All of them are dying. You can smell death everywhere.
Lizzy then knew that Dr Reeds' mission has something to do with the secret code she has. The gundam scientists seem to think that it was too top secret that they have to meet her in such places to be away from the eyes of Oz. Plus the fact that they have to send Dr Reeds personally.
She settled beside the good doctor and said with much delight, "It is so good to see you back Doctor." He was like a father to her.
"No time for chit-chat," he said without taking his eyes off the ground. "I want to know what the codes mean."
She was silent for a moment. She doesn't know how to break the news to the Doctor. But she wondered what would be his reaction when he finds out.
"I don't have that much time," the doctor said impatiently.
She sighed. Like the doctor she just stared at the ground and said, "The codes were meant for me. It said: For my dear Lara Perkins, it was nice seeing you the other day in the base. Too bad you have joined the gundam pilots. But soon we will meet. The pilots will lead me to you. They've just delivered this message to you. It was signed by Kenji. Looks like Kenji was in the base after all when Heero and I rescued Duo. He saw me and he recognized me."
After that, both of them were quiet. Then the Dr said, "You do know that Kenji will use that to set the pilots against you right?"
She sighed again and nodded her head. "Yeah I know. He will use anything to catch me and the pilots."
"So what do you plan to do? You're life is now in danger especially if the pilots find out you used to be an Oz."
"I know that. They might actually forgive me for the fact that I used to be an Oz soldier but I doubt if .." She can't continue. She was about to say something about Quatre and his father but she felt like throwing up. Just thinking about it made her dizzy.
"Doubt if what?" the Dr wants to know.
So she told him gently, "Q might not be that forgiving if he finds out I too am responsible in getting his father killed."
"I thought we talked about this before." The Dr said in low tones. "He killed himself and it wasn't your fault. You were merely assigned to track him down. It was the others who really killed him."
"I don't know Dr," Lizzy said so unsure of herself, "I could have done something like I did with the others. I could have misled them thus saving his father but I didn't. I tracked him down and -" she stopped and blinked back the tears that was trying to fall down. She doesn't want to remember the past. It always hurt her to think of those events. She also knew that Quatre had gone berserk that time and used the Zero system that nearly destroyed a colony.
"I must go. I'll see what I can do to prevent the pilots from knowing it. That is, if you don't really want them to know. The choice is yours."
Does she really want to tell them? .. Then she shook her head. "I can't let them know it yet." Then the Dr stood up and left her. She followed soon afterwards. She doesn't feel like going home now..
Home. It was so ironic. How could she consider their hideout as home? She should be running away from them. She should have just remained a civilian in the first place! Going home to the gundam pilots? She is so sure her parents will be horrified. The gundam pilots are feared so much by every people and nation because of the destruction they bring. You don't really want to be near them considering they are the world's top dangerous people.
Pushing out her reverie, she became alarm when she noticed three bikers who are tailing behind her. She dropped her visor and speed up her bike. She wants to know for sure if she was being tailed or not.
After a few minutes, it was confirmed. She is being tailed. She can't possibly go back to the hideout now. She has to loose them. She also tried to keep her calm when they started shooting at her. Though this isn't the first time she was tailed, she felt that those behind her were no normal Oz soldiers, if they really are from Oz.
But fate was not on her side. Just as she was to turn around a corner that will bring her freedom, some old man was trying to cross the street. That led her to sharply swing her bike to the other side but that move made her lose control and she skidded to an approaching car. She catapult and tried to make a soft landing but she crashed into the top of a ten-wheeler truck. It somehow made a soft landing but knew that her right arm was badly beaten. She tried to get up as quickly as possible considering the three bikers were still after her. She jumped off the truck and headed for the nearby houses. She ran as fast as she could. She just hoped she can outrun them considering she's badly hurt.
Just when she thought she can safely hide by crossing the bridge, she heard a bike roared over her head and landed a few meters away from her. The driver seemed to have used the upper roadway to catch up with her. The biker was looking straight at her. She felt that she was going to die. If she run, she will be shot at immediately considering the proximity and the open space. The bridge was behind the biker. If only she could get past the biker, she can risk her life jumping off the bridge.
Lizzy's mind was racing and she was praying for a miracle to happen. Her heart was thumping so loudly she felt her veins are going to explode in any minute. She hasn't been caught in this kind of situation before. Her breath was ragged. To make matters worse, the two other bikers have caught up with them and were waiting behind her.
Just then, the biker in front of her removed his helmet. Lizzy almost choked. She knew the guy. His eyes, his hair.. How could she not forget ..
"Hello there Lara. It is so nice to meet you again." The other man was grinning maniacally at her.
"Kenji," she whispered.