Chapter 87

Wufei secured the four shooters that had been stopped in the lobby before punching the button on the elevator. He hoped he could make it up to the fourth floor and stop the other shooters before they made it to Kiri's floor. Failing that, it would be easier to catch up to Heero from there. He hurried into the elevator and punched the button.

The doors opened and Wufei could hear shots being fired in the stairwell leading to the floor he was on now and he smirked to himself. He'd beaten them here. He waited where he could watch the stairs from around a corner to make himself a harder target. He wasn't disappointed when the old man came up the stairs. There was shooting going on behind him but he didn't seem concerned with it.

"Stop right there," Wufei ordered as he stepped out, gun raised.

The old man raised an eyebrow and kept walking.

"I said STOP!"

The old man stopped walking and smirked at Wufei. "You don't scare me. Get out of my way."

"Surrender."

The old man reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun. Wufei didn't give him a chance to shoot. He shot the old man, not feeling any remorse for shooting to kill this time. If his hunch was right, this man was directly responsible for how Kiri and all the dead girls had been treated.

The old man went down and as Wufei bent to make sure he was dead, one of the shooters dashed around them and up the stairs.

Wufei swore but knew that he had to make sure this man was dead first. There was another shot on the stairwell below him as Wufei confirmed that the man had no pulse.

"Did you get the other one?" Heero demanded as he ran up the stairs.

"No, I wanted to make sure this one was dead for sure," Wufei said as he stood. "He went up the stairs."

The two agents rushed up the stairs after the last gunman, hoping to reach him before Trowa had to do anything. All they needed was for the Heavyarms pilot to hurt himself again.

Trowa made his way to the nurse's station, where there were two nurses hiding under the desk.

"You should be in your room," one of them told Trowa.

"I'm a Preventer. I'm here to protect you," he said.

The second nurse raised an eyebrow. "With your arm immobilized?"

"I don't shoot with this arm," he assured her. "Besides, some of our best agents are heading down to intercept the gunmen so with any luck I won't need to shoot anyway."

"Well, okay then," the second nurse said, the doubt in her voice evident.

"Just stay down and keep quiet. No need to give away your hiding spot unnecessarily." Trowa didn't add that he didn't care if they thought he should be on duty. He was doing this for Kiri, not for them.

Trowa tensed at the sound of gunshots from the floor below. Apparently Heero and Wufei hadn't managed to stop Decart in the lobby. He knew that Kiri's room was between the stairwell and the nurse's station and something told him that the gunmen would be using the stairs. He headed for Kiri's room. He could stand guard outside of it as well as at the nurse's station. It turned out to be a good move.

Almost as soon as he was in position someone banged through the stairwell door with a gun drawn. Trowa didn't recognize him from any of the criminal lists. The man looked both ways down the halls before spotting Trowa.

"You, do you work here?"

"No. Lower your weapon," Trowa said calmly.

The man smirked as he noticed Trowa's immobilized arm. "I don't think so. You might wanna find your room if you don't wanna get hurt. I got business on this floor. Where's the nurse station?"

Trowa had to work not to lose his cool. "I said, 'lower your weapon.' Don't make me repeat myself again."

The man raised his gun and shot, missing Trowa but hitting the door behind him.

Trowa swore and shot back, grazing his target. The man shot again, missing completely. He sent off several more rounds leaving holes in the ceiling and walls. Trowa knew he had to put an end to him before he hurt someone. He aimed carefully and waited for his opportunity. Trowa took one more shot and killed his target. He did feel a little bad about killing someone in a hospital but there really hadn't been any way around it. The man refused to surrender and there was no doubt in Trowa's mind that he would have hurt anyone to get to his target, which happened to be Kiri.

The stairway door burst open again. Trowa raised his gun again but lowered it as he recognized Heero and Wufei coming through.

"Trowa, one got away," Heero said.

"No he didn't," Trowa said with a smirk and a gesture to the dead man on the floor.

"Good work," Heero said as he checked the body. He rose and pulled out his cell phone. "Colonel, the threat has been neutralized." Trowa and Wufei listened to Heero's half of the conversation. "Yes Ma'am. Yes. No. Three confirmed kills, four injured but in custody. No civilian casualties. Yes, Ma'am. We will."

Heero hung up and was about to speak when his phone rang. "Yes? Hello, Sally. I will relay that. Yes. No. Understood."

He hung up and looked at Trowa. "I want you to go with Wufei and fill out your report. I'm going to check on Duo and Kiri. Then I'll finish up things here before coming up to fill out my report. Sally told me that once you're done with your report she wants to inspect your shoulder again and make sure you didn't damage it again."

Trowa rolled his eyes. "I didn't."

"So you say," Wufei said. "You know that she won't take our word for anything anymore."

Trowa nodded. They'd told Sally they were fine one too many times when she thought they should have gotten stitches or been hospitalized so now she insisted on checking things herself. And after his behavior concerning Kiri lately he knew she wasn't going to believe him anyway.

"You're to wait in your room once you're done in the office," Heero told Trowa. "Sally will be there as soon as she is able."

"Let's get going," Wufei said. "Sally will have a lot of work to do today."

Duo and Kiri waited in silence as the sound of gunshots got closer and closer. Something hit the door, making both of them jump.

Keeping his gun trained on the door, Duo used his foot to push the chair closer to Kiri's bed. "Move that chair onto its side and pull it in front of you. It'll help hide you."

Kiri struggled to move the chair and Duo was about to help her when more gunshots sounded. They were closer so Duo didn't dare decrease his concentration. More gunshots rang out and Duo was sure that he heard Kiri whimpering under the bed. He chanced a glance at her and saw that she'd managed to get the chair in front of her like he'd told her to.

There was a sudden silence and Duo snapped his attention back to the door. He could hear Kiri sobbing from her hiding place and he felt awful. This had to be the crappiest way to wake up when she already didn't feel good. Duo could hear voices in the hallway and he was sure he recognized Heero, Wufei, and Trowa talking. They wouldn't be talking if there was still danger so he knelt down to check on Kiri. He moved the chair so he could see her clearly. She was cowering under the bed, the blanket was still around her but she didn't look comfortable and tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey, everything's okay. I think it's done," he told her gently.

Kiri nodded but didn't make a move to get out from under the bed. Duo thought that might be for the best until he made absolutely certain that it was safe for her to come out. He moved the chair back in front of her and went to the door.

Duo inched the door open and saw Heero coming towards him. "Heero, is it clear?"

"Yes. How are things here?"

"Kiri woke up just as the shooting started. I had her get under the bed so she'd be safer. I might need some help getting her out without hurting her."

Heero nodded. "I'll help you."

They went back into Kiri's room. Heero pulled the chair out of the way and knelt down. Duo knelt next to him to see Kiri still huddled in the back.

"See, kid, everything's fine. Let's get you out of there." Duo reached out to Kiri and was surprised when she flinched and pulled back a bit. He wondered if they'd scared her without meaning to.

Heero frowned. There was no reason for Kiri to react this way to Duo. Maybe it was his fault. She hadn't ever really warmed up to him.

"S-sorry," Kiri whispered. "Can't help it."

Heero understood. It was an ingrained response, not an actual expression of fear. "Can you get out on your own?"

Kiri hesitated and then shook her head.

Heero nodded. He had suspected as much. He knew that pulling her out would probably hurt her but there was no other way if she couldn't get out on her own. They reached in and together Heero and Duo pulled her out. She whimpered as they moved her, confirming Heero's suspicion that she was sore and that was why she hadn't been able to move herself.

Once she was clear of the bed, Heero picked her up and set her on the bed. "Duo, find Sally. I want her to confirm that Kiri is okay."

Duo nodded and dashed out the door. He was worried that making Kiri get on that hard floor had hurt her but it couldn't have been helped. If things had gone wrong, she would have been in more danger in the bed.

He went to the nurse's station.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he greeted the two nurses. "I know that you're exceptionally busy right now but I really need to speak to Doctor Po. Would you know where I can find her?"

"We can page her for you but you should know that she might not be able to come right away."

"That's all I ask," Duo said with a winning smile.

"Hang on a minute."

While Duo waited to hear whether or not Sally could come, he wondered what he should do for lunch. Since Kiri was awake now he really didn't want to make her eat hospital food while he ate real food. So he decided that he would order pizza. But what kind would Kiri like?

"Excuse me?"

Duo's thoughts were pulled back the issue at hand. "Yes?"

"Doctor Po says that she will be with you as soon as she can but she's in the middle of something right now."

"No problem," Duo said, flashing the nurse another smile. "I'll be waiting."

Before heading back in to Kiri's room, Duo called Quatre.

"What's up, Duo? I heard about the shooting at the hospital. Is everyone okay?"

"Calm down, Quatre. Everyone is fine. They got the gunmen taken care of. I wanted to let you know that Kiri woke up just as everything was going down so she's had kind of a rough day."

"Oh, the poor kid."

"Yeah, so I was thinkin' we should cheer her up with some pizza."

"Pizza?"

"Yeah. If I order it can you go pick it up and bring it down? I'm sure she'd love to see you."

"Yes, Duo, I can do that."

"Great. I'll text you when I get it ordered."

Duo hung up and called his favorite pizza joint. Once his pizza was ordered he texted Quatre the details and headed back to Kiri's room.

As Duo left to page Sally, Heero turned to Kiri. He adjusted the various tubes connected to her so that she would be more comfortable. Kiri scrunched her eyes shut and Heero could tell she was trying not to cry. He wondered if he'd hurt her on accident. He wouldn't know if she'd sustained any real damage until Sally came to check her. While they were waiting he thought that distracting Kiri might be a good idea.

"Kiri, did you ever see Decart?"

Kiri started and looked at Heero, obviously confused. "O-once."

"Do you think you'd recognize him if you saw him again?"

"M-maybe."

She didn't seem very sure. Heero really wanted to identify the man Wufei had shot on the fourth floor. If he was Decart as they thought then it would mean they could decrease Kiri's security detail. And maybe it would make her feel safer.

"When Duo comes back I'm going to retrieve a photograph. I want you to tell me if it's Decart or not." Colonel Une had told him on the phone that she'd seen the security footage of the men entering the hospital and had recognized the old man as Angus Carruthers. She had brought a photo of him taken from the surveillance recordings of his visit to her office so that she could verify his identity. She should be at the hospital with it by now so it wouldn't take Heero long to get it.

Kiri nodded but she still looked nervous. Heero wondered if he should tell her that nobody could jump out of the photo at her.

There was a knock on the door before Duo came in. Heero wondered if he ought to remind Duo that waiting to be let in was the best way to ensure he wouldn't get shot.

"Sally'll come when she gets the chance," Duo said as he ignored the annoyed look on Heero's face. She's a little busy right now."

Heero grunted. He really shouldn't have expected anything else given the day's events. No better time to bring that photograph for Kiri.

"I'll be back in a minute," he told Duo before leaving.

He made his way downstairs, past the Preventers cleaning up the mess he and Wufei had made of the stairwell and the lobby. He saw Colonel Une and headed for her. She was speaking to the agent in charge of cleanup. She was juggling a clipboard and a couple of file folders as she gave out orders and tried to fill out paperwork at the same time. Heero wondered if he ought to suggest that she ask to use the nurse's station so she didn't drop her files by accident.

"Colonel, it seems that Kiri woke up during the attack. She is able to look at that photograph," he reported.

"That's excellent news." Colonel Une pulled a photograph from one of the files. "If she doesn't recognize him, it isn't a big deal. Carter has already identified him."

Heero frowned. "Then why ask Kiri?"

"I want to make sure that Carter didn't lie to us," Une said. "I don't think Kiri would bother, especially now that both Chase and Decart are dead. She has nothing to gain from a lie."

"And Carter does?"

"Carter was very close to Decart…Whitaker…Carruthers…whoever he really is. There may be some loyalty or training that would make him lie to us."

Heero nodded. "Understood. I will return after I get Kiri's information."

As the door shut behind Heero, Duo turned to Kiri with a smile. "Let's see if we can't get you comfortable again."

Duo grabbed Kiri's pillow from under the bed where it had been forgotten. He made a show of fluffing it up and set it behind her. Once she leaned back he tucked the blanket around her legs so she wouldn't get chilled. The floor had been hard and cold and Duo felt bad that she hadn't had any padding at all. Even a hospital blanket would have been better than nothing but there hadn't been time. Once she was tucked in Duo frowned. Something was missing. He started looking around and found what he was looking for behind the bed. He dusted off the stuffed lion and handed it over to Kiri, who hugged it close.

Duo didn't really get the chance to say anything to help lighten the mood because someone knocked on the door. Duo opened it and Heero came in. He headed straight for Kiri and thrust a photograph at her. Kiri reached out a trembling hand and took the picture. She looked at it for a minute.

"It's him," she confirmed softly.

Heero took the picture from her. "Thank you," he said before heading right back out the door.

Duo rolled his eyes. Mission Mode Heero would go back to normal once his mission was complete.

"I'm sorry." Kiri's soft voice broke Duo's reverie and he couldn't help but be confused.

"For what?" he asked. "You didn't do anything."

Kiri turned wide, sad eyes to him. "If I wasn't here…"

"He would've gone after you somewhere else," Duo interrupted. He wasn't about to let Kiri blame herself for this so he made sure to keep his voice serious so that she wouldn't think he was joking. "You didn't do anything. It isn't your fault Decart has chosen to live a life of crime and it isn't your fault you were dragged into it. That's your parent's fault. You didn't do anything."

Kiri hugged her lion a little tighter and pulled her knees up. "But—"

"No," Duo interrupted again. He sat next to her. He had to make her understand. "No," he repeated. He wrapped her in his arms and gently pushed her hair behind her ear. "You didn't do anything," he told her again. "This isn't your fault."

Kiri didn't respond and Duo let her sit in silence to mull over what he'd told her.

An unexpected knock made Duo get off the bed. He pulled his gun out as a precaution before opening the door. He put the gun away as he stepped back to let Sally in.

Sally smiled to see Kiri so alert. "Well, how was that for a wake-up call this afternoon? How are you feeling, Kiri?"

"Sore," Kiri mumbled.

"I made her get under the bed," Duo admitted. "I can't imagine it was comfortable at all." He didn't want Sally to think that Kiri was sore because of something she'd done. It was entirely Duo's fault and he was willing to take responsibility for it.

"Thank you, Duo," Sally said with a nod. "Would you be so kind as to give us a little privacy? I'll let you know when you can come back in."

"Sure thing, Sally." Duo headed out into the hallway and pulled out his phone. "Hey, Quatre, how's the pizza coming?"

"I'm on my way, Duo," Quatre said. "Traffic is awful in this part of town because of what happened at the hospital. There's nothing I can do to get there any faster."

"No problem. Sally just got to Kiri's room to check her and it'll probably take 'em a few minutes anyway."

"Well if you need to, go ahead and order Kiri something from the cafeteria to tide her over. It doesn't have to be something big. A yogurt or a pudding would probably be fine and not ruin her appetite for pizza."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Duo said.

"I just don't want her to go hungry again," Quatre insisted.

"She won't," Duo assured his friend. "I promise I won't let her go hungry. You just get here safely and we'll see you soon."