Chapter Eight

Trowa POV

Morning came and I groaned as a sharp rap on the door announced Heero's impatience. I turned my head to the clock – 4 A.M.. I forced myself up, shushing Quatre as he stirred, and got out of the warm bed. I was sorely tempted to return to it, but I didn't really want to deal with a pissed off Heero Yuy.

"Trowa?" I buttoned my jeans and pulled a gun out of the closet.

"Mission. Go back to sleep." I said, tucking the gun in the waistband of my jeans. As I pulled my shirt over my head I heard a rustling behind me. Small hands snaked around my waist and a small head rested between my shoulder blades.

"Be careful?" I lowered my hands to hold his.

"Always." I promised. He let go and retreated back to bed. Seconds later he was sound asleep, and I was on my way out the door. Heero was in the hallway, waiting. "I'm ready."

"Food?"

"There's some in the jeep. I'll eat as we move." He nodded and pushed away from the wall. I followed him past Duo and Wu Fei's rooms, and then down through the kitchen and out the door. It didn't surprise me that neither were up.

The jeep was parked next to the house, under a camo net. Heero pulled it off with one sweep and hopped into the drivers side. I raised an eyebrow at him but didn't comment – it wasn't as if we were driving through towns where we could get pulled over. At the moment he didn't look at all like a fourteen year old boy, but I doubted he had a fake ID.

"I'll park four miles from the base. It's as close as we can get without being seen." I nodded and pulled a nutrients bar out of the glove compartment. "We need to get inside and get to the computer base room. You'll be my lookout while we move, and while I get the information." I nodded. "You'll be in charge of placing most of the bombs as we go."

"Okay."

"When I get the information, we sweep through on our way out. Eliminate everybody we come into contact with or see. Then we blow the place." I nodded and held on as Heero sped over a bump. "After the blast we'll go back in and destroy everything that hasn't already been."

"Any particular reason for this?"

"They have something J doesn't want them to have. He wants them all dead."

"That seems personal." I said calmly. Heero's jaw clenched. He knew as well as I that we were not supposed to be used for personal vendettas.

"He didn't tell me what they have, but I'm guessing it has to do with the genetic experiments and my training."

"I see." Now that didn't sound so personal. The rest of the drive, which lasted for roughly four hours, was silent. I made sure my weapons were ready for use, and I divided the bombs Heero had brought between us. After parking the jeep and covering it, he managed to find someplace on him to hide the bombs. Which made me stare wide-eyed at him – he was only wearing a pair of tight spandex shorts and a loose-fitting tank top!

"Snap to it!" He snapped when he caught me staring. I blinked, but offered no apology. He grunted. "Let's move." I followed him through the brush, crouching low and carefully stepping around rocks and twigs.

Heero was silent as a grave. He made no noise as he walked, and seemed to melt into the shadows. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that he was part wolf AND part panther. It impressed me, I admit.

We stopped when we reached the edge of one of the main buildings. Heero was glancing around, and when I followed his gaze I realized that he was scouting out the cameras. And watch towers, of which there were few. "This base is small. It's used for small scale research." Heero explained under his breath.

"Why does J think that someone here has his data?" I asked.

"The spy's name is in this base's database. He's one of the understudies of a head scientist. Besides, where else would be a good place to conduct illegal research?" He had a point. "Let's go. Stay right behind me." I nodded and he took off running towards the side door. I followed inches behind him and breathed only when we were safely inside.

A little hole in the wall opposite me was the first hiding place for a small bomb. Then we were off down the corridors, placing small bombs every hundred feet or so. Once we'd thoroughly scoured every corner of the small building, Heero raced off to the next.

There were four small to medium sized buildings in all. All of them held various weapon prototypes or computers packed with data that Heero 'borrowed' before planting a time sensitive virus. Rigging all four buildings took a total of five hours. We were running short on our time limit – which was really just a time we set to outline our safe zone.

The final building was obviously the main building, and Heero slowed his pace drastically when we reached it. He took his time to pick his way inside, then took some more time to glance around. He motioned me foreword and closed the door behind me.

We were much more careful in placing the bombs as we walked. We had to dodge several scientists and guards along the way, before we finally made it to each end of the pentagon shaped building. Heero seemed satisfied as he led me to the main computer room.

It was amazing to watch him work. He was careful, precise, agile, and very intelligent. He was, as the other Heero had said, a "perfect Soldier". He was also cold as death while working a mission.

I stood back and let him work on the locks to the main lab. According to him, and the schedules he 'found' online, the building was going to be deserted as the scientists and most of the guards retreated to the cafeteria building for lunch. The doors swooshed open and everything went to hell….

Heero POV

The scientists had been waiting for us. How could I have been so stupid! I should have known that anything stolen from J would have been kept under lock and key and guarded by as many soldiers as there were available. The security would have been tighter.

The guns they aimed and fired were loaded with painful blanks that broke skin, but didn't bury deep. Yet others were obviously dart guns. I saw Trowa take a blank with a grunt, and I fired back at the perpetrator. He fell like a sack of lead.

"Don't kill them!" I heard a voice scream. I caught a brief glance of a middle-aged man in a smock. "We need them alive!" My thoughts were confirmed – they wanted to put us through tests. They wanted to know what made us tick. Apparently the files stolen from J intrigued him.

Trowa fell behind me, a dart firmly embedded in the small of his back. I moved to stand over him, still firing. My luck soon ran out, and I felt the prick of a dart in my neck. I growled and fell, blackness swallowing me.

When I woke I didn't bother to mask the fluctuation in my heartbeat or breathing. These scientists needed nothing else to intrigue them. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings.

I was in a cell, half slumped against a wall. My wrists were shackled above me. I could feel cuffs around each ankle, although only one was attached to a chain, which was attached to a hook on the wall. My shirt had been torn off, and electrodes were pasted to my chest and my forehead.

Trowa was across from me, although only his wrists were cuffed. They must not have seen him as much of a threat. Stupid of them. He was awake and watching me. "Did we fail?" He asked, only his lips moving.

"No. We've just been….detained. We're still in the same place as far as I can tell." I responded. "And from what I've heard they don't want to hurt us."

"No, they just want to study us."

"It could be worse." I lipped just as the door swooshed open to admit the man that had been barking out orders before. I stared at him.

"I hope you're comfortable boys." He said, setting a clipboard down on a metal table. "You'll be here a while I'm afraid. You'll be quite busy." He made his way over to me, and knelt down in front of me. "You especially will be busy. I have many questions I hope you can answer."

"No, I don't know if the love of your life is near." I retorted. Trowa let out a laugh disguised as a cough. The man smiled.

"Pity. I so wanted to meet her." A had raised and ghosted along my cheek. I flinched away and he smiled wider. "Anyway, I just came to introduce myself. I'm afraid I have other plans."

"That's too bad." I said as he stood. He left the room without another word, and I snorted. "Whatever you do, do not give them what they want." I said to Trowa. "Annoy them. Even if it doesn't look like they're annoyed…."

"That's a very Duo way to do things."

"It puts them off their guard." I shrugged and wriggled my wrists. Simple steel. Easy to break. "Will you be able to break these?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Good. Just follow my lead then. We won't be escaping until I've had the chance to study the lab."

"How?"

"They'll take me there after a while, to do experiments. I'll be able to make assessments." Trowa nodded. I settled in my bindings. "Until then, get rest. We'll need all the strength we have."

TBC