Z'omg! I don't believe that I haven't updated this in a month!! -bows down in apology- Gomen.

But thank you to all who reviewed!! It means the world to me and I'm glad that you guys are enjoying the fic so far!

Just wanted to mention that Tala will be making an appearance in a little while...I hope... -sweatdrops-

Anyway, I've kept you guys waiting for long enough...so on to the next chapter!

Enjoy!

Chapter Six

"No, sir…two of them are our men…Stepan and Vladislav…Over."…

Kai froze mind-step, his heart plummeting in his chest. Dmitri, Andros and Fillip stopped immediately, eying Kai warily.

"Sir…what's happened? …Sir?" Fillip questioned, moving forwards and placing a reassuring hand on Kai's arm.

"The men…they're coming," Kai whispered, causing the three other men to gasp and whip out their guns, gazing around the area with keen eyes, "…but they have Stepan and Vladislav…"

Andros turned his head at the last few words, eyes widening, "Sir? Did I hear you correctly? They have Stepan and Vladislav?"

Dmitri and Fillip frowned, turning to their leader, their hearts in their throats. Kai swallowed, gazing each man in the eye for a few seconds, before nodding solemnly. "Yes, men. They do." Kai took in a deep breath and released it slowly, "But we have to carry on with the mission. This is our only window of opportunity, we may never get another."

"But…Stephan…Vladislav…they-" Dmitri stuttered; only to be cut off with a firm shake of the head from Kai.

"I'm sorry, Dmitri…but we have to keep moving." Kai ignored the protests that fell from Dmitri's mouth and kept on walking, gun cocked and finger poised over the trigger, his eyes scanning the perimeter endlessly. Andros and Fillip looked on worriedly, but followed the younger man none the less, while Dmitri gazed on in shock, not sure whether or not to follow. He sighed deeply after a while, before setting off after the other three, who were already nearing the building and were slinking stealthily along the walls of the compound.

The radio crackled to life in Kai's ear, causing him to jump slightly. "Hiwatari, come in. Over."

"Ka………com……ou….now!" Static interfered with the transmission.

Kai frowned, "Roman? Maksim? Come in. What's going on? Over."

"The………get o……over."

"Repeat what you said!" Kai hissed into the headset, watching Andros, Fillip and Dmitri scout the area in front of them, glancing back at him once in a while, concerned etched on their faces.

"Sir! Th………need to…th…now, sir! Now! Over!"

"Roman? Roman, repeat what you said. Repeat!"

"Sir!" Kai lifted his head towards Fillip, eyebrow cocked in question. "The heat sensor goggles are failing. They're not working, sir."

Kai frowned and gazed through the goggles towards Fillip, realising, in shock, that what the man had said was true. "Shit!" Ripping the goggles off his face, Kai motioned for the three men to step back towards him, away from the edge of building.

"Kai…" the headset crackled again, clearer this time.

"Roman? What's going on? Over." Kai hissed, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face, his gut clenching in anticipation.

"They're com…g, sir. They're heading strai…t towards you…they." A bout of gunfire erupted through the headset before silence reined.

"Roman? Roman? Roman, come in! Come in, Roman!" Kai whispered desperately.

"Sir? Sir, what's going on?" Andros questioned, his face ashen and pale as he stared at his leader.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, before he slowly raised his head towards Andros, Fillip and Dmitri. "They got Roman, Nikolai and Kirill…and they're coming for us next."

The three men listening froze, their eyes wide and their mouths agape in shock. Kai growled and turned, his fist lashing out and embedding itself in the side on the wall. He hissed and pulled his hand free after a while, watching the rivulets of blood trickle down his fist.

"Kai, please. Don't lose it…we need you to carry on this mission," Dmitri soothed, placing a comforting hand on Kai's shaking shoulder.

The dual-haired teen let out a shaky laugh, "The mission's screwed, Dmitri. They've nearly captured all of our men…and there's every chance that we're next." Kai's laugh was hollow, as he shoved Dmitri away from him.

The man stared at Kai in shock, anger welling up inside him, coursing through his veins, waiting to erupt, and erupt it did. With a growl, Dmitri surged forwards and flesh met flesh, as his fist met Kai's cheek. Kai stumbled backwards, clutching his cheek in shock, Andros and Fillip staring at the two incredulously, before gaping in shock as Dmitri grasped Kai's shirt and thrust him up against the wall harshly.

"Do you keep promises, Kai?" Dmitri hissed quietly, chest heaving.

Kai gaped at Dmitri, crimson eyes wide, "You know I do, Dmitri."

"Then why the hell are you giving up? You promised me, before we went on this mission, that you'd bring everyone back. That everyone would be safe!"

"I…" Kai bit his lip, his words coming back at him, freezing his heart.

"You promised us, Kai. You promised all of us that you would lead us back to safety after this mission, that you would never lead us on a mission of which you knew would get us all killed. That's why we all agreed to come on this mission with you, because we trusted you…we trust you with our lives, Kai," Dmitri gritted his teeth together before releasing his hold on Kai's shirt, allowing the younger man to slump back against the wall.

Kai took a deep shuddering breath, his body shaking uncontrollably at Dmitri's sudden outburst, a rarity in the usually carefree, down-to-earth man. He glanced over at Fillip and Andros momentarily, noting that they were unsure of what to do; almost scared. He ran a hand over his face, taking a deep calming breath, before turning his gaze back to Dmitri.

"Dmitri, my friend. I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…a lapse of sanity."

Dmitri shook his head, his eyes softening slightly, "No Kai. I don't want your apologies…because you have nothing to apologise for. Everyone loses it once in a while. Admittedly, you scared me, as this is the first time it's ever happened during a mission. But please, don't abandon us…we need you to lead us on in this mission. As you said, this is our only window of opportunity, and we need to take advantage of that. We're here for you, supporting you in your decisions right until the end," he cast a look back towards Andros and Fillip who nodded their heads reassuringly at their leader. "The three of us."

Kai felt pride swelling up in his chest at the words that left his friend's mouth, and nodded his head softly; three small smiles aimed his way in return. He reached down and grasped his shirt in both of his hands and ripped a long shred off. Catching the other three's questioning gaze, he wrapped the length around his left hand and secured it swiftly.

He nodded towards Andros, Fillip and Dmitri, "Let's go. We have a mission to complete and a team to rescue."

A dark laugh sounded from above the four men, grabbing their attention instantly and causing them to look up. A tall man, dressed darkly and obscured by the shadow of the building, leered down at them, his gaze resting on Kai.

"Not so fast."

Kai glared and whipped out his gun, aiming. Just as he went to pull the trigger, a burst of pain flared up in his right shoulder and he promptly dropped his stance. He gasped but pulled the trigger none the less, dismayed when the throbbing in his body miscalculated his aim and the bullet strayed meters away from his target.

Dmitri, Andros and Fillip whipped out their guns, a coarse cry out to their leader as they saw a bullet penetrate his shoulder a second time. Kai hissed, dropping to one knee as a bead of sweat trickled down his cheek. Taking a risked glance around, he realised that they were surrounded by at least twenty men, who had somehow appeared from the shadows that were cast amongst the airfield. He clutched his shoulder tightly, trying to stem the steady blood flow, and turned to the three men awaiting his orders and slowly shook his head, a soft "Don't." floating through the air.

Andros, Dmitri and Fillip nodded slowly, dropping their weapons to the ground as the group of twenty men closed in on them, surrounding them and backing them up against the building wall. Kai stood up lethargically, the steady blood loss already taking its toll on him, and moved to stand in front of the other three; a shield of sorts.

The man from above them jumped down, landing agilely on the ground in front of them, before straightening up and raising his gun, finger poised over the trigger menacingly.

"Who are you working for?" the man asked, his face obscured, all but one single silver eye visible.

Kai growled and kept his mouth shut, knowing his men would do the same. This didn't seem to bode well with the man as he barked a short, sharp command, causing the twenty men around to fire at the ground by Kai, Dmitri, Andros and Fillip's feet. The four men started slightly but held their ground, glaring defiantly at the man in charge.

The man merely chuckled and lowered his gun, placing a hand on his hip leisurely, "You're not as weak as I anticipated. Who are you working for?" When none the four men in front of him refused to answer, he sighed and shook his head, a low, humourless chuckle leaving his lips. "You men are either extremely brave or extremely retarded. Now, answer the question…or do I have to get others involved?"

The men stayed tight-lipped, unwavering in their decision, only earning them a dark sneer and a wave of a hand from the man in front of them. They tensed, expecting the worse as the twenty men around them cocked their rifles, but could only gasp in horror as they parted and Stefan and Vladislav were shoved in to the circle, both falling to the ground; blindfolded and hands cuffed behind their backs.

"Stefan…Vladislav…" Kai whispered, his heart clenching painfully, blocking out the pain flaring in his shoulder.

The man in charge stepped forward once again, placing the nozzle of his gun against Stefan's head, a cold feeling engulfing Kai, Andros, Fillip and Dmitri. "Again…who are you working for?"

Kai bit his lip, watching in distress as Stefan cowered under the obvious coldness of metal against his skull, but refrained from talking, knowing that he was under strict instructions not to release any information to the enemy, not matter what was at stake…even a life. Andros, Fillip and Dmitri looked away, their hearts clenching and unclenching painfully in their chests, for they knew what was to come and they knew, like Kai, that they were not to divulge information. Each clenched their fists tightly by their sides, their bodies shaking imperceptibly.

The man growled, getting impatient, "Fine! Your loss!" with a strangled cry, he swiftly raised his hand, aimed and fired, his bullet rushing through the air and embedding itself in to Dmitri's forehead, the bone shattering on impact.

Kai whipped his head around, his eyes widening and his breath catching in his throat as Dmitri dropped to the ground, dead, blood pooling slowly around his paling body.

"D..Dmitri…"

ACK! I killed Dmitri!! -goes pale-

Review please, and I will try my very hardest to update soon, and sort out this very distressing mess and introduce Tala! Woo! -grins-

Take are all

Ja ne