Man...it's getting good. Darn these disclaimers. However they are obligatory so...ahem...I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH ANYTHING THAT MIGHT OWN GUNDAM WING!...except the deluxe box set...and the ova...and the millions of mobile suit action figures...and the life size cut out of Heero Yuy that I shame-facedly stuffing my closet...
Oro! Never mind.
Now on to chapter four!
Minsk, Russia
Ninety-six hours and counting…
The night sky was cloudless and a full moon bathed the countryside in its silvery light. It gently caressed the dark emerald boughs of the surrounding fir trees turning them to pure platinum.
In the sky bright points of light sparkled down on the encampment, winking to each other knowingly. For they were aware of something that the slumbering men of the camp were not. Those stars had seen the silhouettes of three men climbing up the steep embankment just outside of the compound.
The scene was truly enchanting and on any other night Chang Wufei would have enjoyed the view.
But not on this night.
The glory and beauty that surrounded him was completely lost on him. His thoughts were intent on his missing partner.
The townsfolk had seen a woman of Sally's description but not recently. She had been registered at a local motel. But when asked, the proprietor revealed that he had not seen her in four days. The Preventers entered her room and Wufei had found her overnight bag with her clothes in it but little else. Duo had pointed out that her bed had not been slept in. And that her field pack was gone.
Wufei had looked down at the bag in his shaking hands. She had left her clothing which indicated that she had intended to return. The fact that she had not meant only one thing: she had been captured as he had suspected. There was no doubt in his mind.
And Duo and Zechs had agreed.
Wufei scrambled up the bank as fast as physically possible causing the two men who had come with him to increase their speed. His eyes did not see the scenery but instead conjured up a picture of Sally; his mind ran through a hundred possibilities scenarios from torture and death to...Wufei halted abruptly, his entire being going cold.
He envisioned her wounded, her body broken and bleeding from brutal interrogations… He saw her gaunt form emaciated from starvation… thrashing, fevered and delirious… In his mind he pictured her bruised and bloody corpse staring lifelessly from her beautiful blue eyes. Or even worse…
His eyes shut tightly against that particular thought as a wave of nausea washed over him. Stories of what happened to women prisoners of war played through his mind like a record caught in a loop.
His lungs felt suddenly crushed...as if a huge hand squeezed the very air from him. No…! He would get to her before that happened. Upon my honor, I will rescue her. And pity the man who touches her… Wufei's hand clutched the grip of his automatic in a white knuckled fist and he moved forward again...this time at an increased speed.
Barely audible, a muffled groan filtered up to him from some distance below. "Hey, Wuffie… is it possible… for you to go any faster. I mean, c'mon… The Lightening Count here and I are practically… running ya over." Duos sarcastic comment was interrupted by his gasping need for oxygen.
Zechs grunted his agreement with Duo's sentiment but said nothing, choosing instead to save his breath for the climb.
"We don't have time to play around. Sally is in danger." Wufei growled savagely under his breath as he turned to glare at Duo. "Hurry up!"
If looks could kill… Duo's blue eyes blinked at the Chinese Gundam pilot. "Geeze Louise. One mention of Sally in trouble and its like adding lighter fluid to an open flame. Cool that inferno, Dragon Lord. Keep it up and youll burn down the countryside."
Wufei emitted a deep throaty growl. "Climb, Maxwell…"
Duo pulled himself up next to Zechs and stopped for a breather. The happy-go-lucky Gundam pilot watched as Wufei disappeared over the crest of the ridge. "What is up with the raging beast routine? I mean, know Sally is his partner and friend and all. But he doesn't do that when others get captured. He wouldn't doesn't rush to my rescue like that. In fact he probably wouldn't try at all..." Duo grumbled under his breath.
Zechs shook his head. "Leave him alone, Duo."
"Whaaaat…?" Duo arched an eyebrow at the Lightening Count. "Is it too much to ask that the Last ruddy Lord of the illustrious Dragon Clan deign to slow down long enough for us simple plebeians to catch our collective breath? I mean he's freakin' me out acting this way."
A strange expression flitted across Zechs' face. "I'd be disappointed if he didn't act that way." His tone became soft. "I know the way I'd feel if it was Noin out there…"
"I understand the losing the partner thing, but the way he's behavin'…" Shaking his head incredulously, Duo quirked an eyebrow at Zechs. "If I didn't know better, I'd say our Little Dragons in love."
Zechs' ice blue eyes bored into Duo's. "Maybe he is…Then again maybe he's not. But if it was Hilde, Duo, how would you feel?"
If it was Hilde... Duo glanced back up the ridge where Wufei had disappeared. "I know we agreed to split up, but I'm thinkin its not a good idea to leave him without backup. Not if we want to take these guys alive…"
A shadow of a smile passed over Zechs' stolid features. "I had no intention of letting him go alone." He reached up and pulled himself further up the cliff. "I'm not taking the risk of possibly losing two Preventers. Make it your priority to gain control of that satellite, Duo. I want reinforcements as soon as possible."
Duo nodded once and reluctantly began the inexorable climb to the top.
Sometime after her father and the Middle Easterner had left her cell, men had come under orders of her father and moved her here. They had treated her bruises and cuts. And pointing to the fabric laid out on the bed, they had ordered her to change.
Then they had exited leaving her alone in the room with a serving woman of Middle Eastern descent. A room that looked to be torn directly from the pages of 'A Thousand and One Arabian Nights'.
Sheer draperies of colorful silk hid the stark ugliness of concrete walls. Softly the flickering lights off dozens of candles illuminated the low slung bed lying against one of those walls. The light danced off of the golden metal that made up the dozen or so candelabras that held them. And delicate perfumes graced the air adding an exotic feel to the atmosphere. The affect was stunning and any other time Sally would have been enchanted.
But not now. Not with the cold fist of fear clamping tighter and tighter around her stomach. A fear that she, even with her spunk and fighter's spirit, simply could not shake.
Sally reached down picked up the clothing from the bed and then looked at the other woman incredulously. Her angry tones echoed in the quiet of the chamber. "Oh, no. Uhn-uh. This is not happening. There is no way I'm putting on something that would give a belly-dancer pneumonia."
Hanging from her fingers was the top half of a two-piece costume. It was reminiscent of the costumes worn by dancing girls in high end Arabian restaurants. Only this one was more translucent.
Golden embroidery shaped the pliable wine-colored material taming the fabric to emphasize her figure in a most… flattering…way. Dangling from just under the breast line to her stomach were metal tassels that chimed every time the fabric moved.
She dropped the halter with the tinkling protest of chimes and picked up the bottom half, all the while shaking her head. The fabric of the skirts was sheer and light and slits ran up the sides. A single length of the same material draped down the front from the vee just under her belly button.
Sally would have been a fool if she did not recognize what this get up would do for her shape. Hands down it would emphasize every accoutrement she was ever born with tenfold. There was only one thing this scrap of fabric was designed for.
Her face hardened. She wadded the delicate fabric up and tossed it back on the bed. "One of us will be dead before that happens."
The woman was quiet. Too quiet and she gazed at Sally sympathetically as she moved to draw a bath for the blond woman. "Do not fight him. It will go easier for you if you don't."
"What?!" Sally whipped around and stared at the woman hard.
She stood keeping her back to Sally. Her voice was worn and weary. "It will be better for you in the long run if you do not fight him. My husband is not a man known for his tolerance. Or his mercy." The woman's shoulders slumped. She had seen this happen many times before. She knew what lay ahead of this beautiful and fiery fair-skinned woman. For the man that Sally was being prepared for was also her husband. And she knew what would happen if Sally did not comply. The woman's fingers rose unconsciously to her right cheek. At the very least she would be beaten. At the worst…
Sallys blue eyes narrowed at this. "Why do you care?"
The woman sighed and turned to face Sally exposing the ridged and blemished flesh of her face.
Sally's eyes widened in surprise making her speechless, shocked at the extent of the womans scarring.
The woman raised her eyes to meet Sallys. "You remind me of myself. The same bold spirit. But I learned. Just as you will. It is hopeless to defy him."
Sally took in the lines on the woman's face signs of premature aging. She could not have been much older than Sally was herself. And yet she had the appearance of one who has lived for ages and seen untold horrors. Her shoulders were bowed as if she carried the weight of that knowledge on them.
The scars told a horror story all their own. But the thing that really got to Sally was her eyes. The woman's brown eyes were haunted and guarded. They reminded Sally of her own when she lived with her father. And quite suddenly Sally felt a wave of compassion for the woman and for what she has had to endure. "What's your name?"
"Shia." Was the calm quiet reply.
"Look, Shia, I appreciate the concern, but there is no way on earth or in the colonies that I'm going down without a fight. He's going to have to kill me first."
Shia sighed and closed her eyes. "He will. You can be certain of that." She was tired; so tired of watching this happen again and again. "There were others before you. Some of them were like you. The same attitude of defiance the same resolve. Those who gave in survived. The rest…" Shia turned her back to Sally and turned the water off. She pulled the cork out of a bottle and the scent of jasmine filled the room. Pouring the contents into the water she spoke in a near whisper. "The rest died slowly. Horribly."
"Then help me."
Shia turned to Sally wide eyed with fear as the blond woman reached out desperately to grasp her arm. "Help me before that becomes my fate too. Help me to get away. Now. Before the guards return."
Shia shook her head fearfully. "You don't know what you are asking of me. If I do help you to escape and I'm discovered, he will kill me." Her voice trembled so that Sally could barely understand her next words. "And not the way he killed the others. Something worse…"
Sally blanched as she studied the woman in front of her and abruptly turned away. There was no way that she could get Shia's help. And nothing would justify Sally in asking her.
Sally may be frightened, but she also was a doctor, with all the responsibilities of one. She had taken a vow that she would first do no harm. And if she made Shia help her, Shia would be forfeiting her life. It was a sacrifice Sally could not ask…would not ask.
This can't be happening… It just simply could not. She could not believe her father would sell her as payment. Even if he was Chen Po, he was her father for goodness sake! Her own flesh and blood.
And yet he had.
She closed her eyes as a new wave of fear washed through her, and she thought for certain that she would lose what little she had in her stomach. Desperately her mind searched for ways to escape this but came to no conclusions.
Sally stood lost in her own thought until she felt the feather light touch of the woman's hand on her arm.
Shia's timid touch startled her from her reverie.
"I am truly sorry." Shia's lined forehead creased in apology and Sally again had to remind herself that Shia was no older than herself. "I must help you to bathe and then…" She gave a side-long glance at the rumpled clothes on the bed.
Sallys jaw clenched as she considered resisting. This woman was of a slight build. Sally was certain if it came to a scrap she could easily overpower the woman. Her sky hued eyes took in the scars on Shia's face and through her mind ran the thoughts of what might happen to her if Sally did not comply. Nauseated, Sally swallowed and nodded her assent.
Neither women spoke as Sally bathed and dressed. Sometime later she stood arrayed in that ridiculous costume, perfumed, combed, and bedecked with pearls in her hair. Anyone who saw her would have taken her for an Arabian princess or perhaps Shaharazad herself. The costume was by far the most alluring thing Sally had ever worn. Yet somehow I feel like a lamb being lead to the slaughter…
A sudden CLICK reverberated through the silent room and both Sally and Shia turned towards the sound. The womens' eyes went wide in terror. A tall powerfully built masculine form moved into the flickering candle light. The golden light played over muscular planes of his torso poorly disguised by the thin muslin tunic he wore. But rather than add to his masculine charm it only served to lend him a menacing aura. Al-Arish stood his eyes boldly roving over Sally. Then they fell on Shia. "You, get out."
Shia dropped her eyes fearfully and gathered up Sallys uniform. Her hands shook as she picked up the greenish pile of fabric and turned to go. Glancing back at Sally for the briefest moment, Shia cried out as the iron grip of her husband closed around her arm. She shrank back from him as he leaned forward.
"I said, get out." His voice was quiet almost a whisper. But to Sally, those quiet tones were a million times more frightening than her father's yelling. She watched in alarm as he shoved Shia towards the door he had just entered. Landing hard against the wall her cry was cut off sharply as she bit down on her lip. In a blind fit of terror, she grabbed the door knob and scrambled out closing the door behind her.
Al-Arish turned his gaze back to Sally and she physically recoiled from the barely concealed lust that raged in his eyes. He took a step towards her. "Come here..." His quiet voice demanded obedience.
She took a half step backwards as her eyes widened in fear. Dang it, Wufei. Where are you…?!
Wufei stalked the compound, flitting from shadow to shadow. Like a phantom in the darkness, he looked for any clue that would lead him to Sally. Close on his heels, looking for anything like a wraith with his platinum hair, Zechs Merquise trailed behind Preventer Dragon keeping an eye out for sentries but also a close watch on his temperamental temporary partner.
First one sentry fell to the ruthless efficiency of the Gundam pilot/ Lightening Count duet, then the second, until at last they both found their way inside of the base's inner workings.
The unconscious form of the guard slumped to the ground in a heap as Zechs grabbed him and dragged him out of sight. Wufei leaned around the corner his inner senses on edge. The coast was clear.
Every hair on the back of his neck stood up. He could feel the tension in his bones. "Three sentries and then the halls are deserted…" I hate it when people underestimate me...
An abrupt movement caught his attention. Zechs gestured and pointed towards the shadowy silhouette of man lumbering through the hallway. Wufei stiffened, his eyes flashing ominously. He knew that shape anywhere. Po Chen…
Suddenly his mind flashed back to a time thirteen years before when he had watched a spirited girl of ten face down that brutish hulk of a man.
Wufei's face twisted into a mask of pure hatred. He knew Sally was here somewhere. She had to be here. And Wufei also knew what that man was capable of. If you even thought about harming her in any way, youre a dead man!
Then a peculiar thought struck him. Sally was here of that he was certain, but if Po Chen was here… Sai Lien… A quiet voice whispered through the back of Wufei's mind. Was there a possibility he knew where she was?
Wufei's eyes narrowed. There was only one way to know for certain. Catching Preventer Wind's eye,Wufei signaled his intent to creep closer, opening his ears to eavesdrop on the conversation.
Raucous laughter echoed down the corridor to the Preventers as Zechs sidled up to Wufei. He leaned down behind a box giving himself a clear visual of the room Po had just entered.
Po Chen sat at a military grade table, his smiling face devilishly illuminated by the standard issue army lamp. "The look on Sai Lien's face…" He chuckled to himself as if finding some private joke immensely entertaining. "I should have married that brat off years ago."
Two soldiers flanked the elderly Chinese; one appeared to be a kid but the other a brown haired soldier with white at his temples seemed much older. Each shifted their weight as they made eye contact. They appeared most displeased with something. All three were blissfully unaware that they had eavesdroppers in the hall.
"Sir, I realize its not my place to disagree with you. I don't agree the Prime Minister's ideals, which is why I am here serving this outfit. But I also served with Major Sally during our Alliance days." The older soldier shifted his weight and adjusted the color of his uniform, obviously working up the nerve to finish his sentence. "Sir…"
Finding no easy way out of it he shrugged. "Sir, I wish to tender my resignation. I find the use of humans as currency to pay for material goods to be reprehensible at best. I cannot tolerate the thought of serving under someone who has so little regard for the sanctity of human life."
Chen's face was white in fury and his eyes looked as if they would pop from his head. "The disposition of my child is my affair and none of your concern. Get out."
The younger soldier stepped forewords incredulously. "But sir, surely as Major Sally's father…"
Sally's… Father? Wufei drew in a silent sharp breath. If he was Sally's father… that meant Sally was… Sai Lien. He cursed beneath his breath as certainty flooded over him. Sally's blue defiant eyes and her snarky smile danced before his eyes. He swore again.
Why had he not seen it before? Sally's spunk… Her eye and hair color… Wufei nearly laughed out loud. Of course Sai Lien was Sally...
He was such an idiot...such a blind idiot. He had spent all that time looking for Sai Lien and had not been able to find her. Simply because he had not thought to look for her in the most obvious place: right beside him.
Exhilaration shot through him as him mind digested that. Excitement...and then something else...a wolfish grin spread across his lean features. She was alive. Heat shot through him as the thought of seeing her again. He had searched so long for her and now he had found her at last. The one person who truly sparked the fire inside his heart so long ago...the one who caused his spirit to burn brightly...Sai lien...Sally...
His mind screeched to an abrupt halt, his face turning ashen as the words of that confounded dragon played through his mind.
He felt like he had been punched in the stomach. That's it isn't it. That is the answer to the riddle of my dreams. How could he have been so blind?Laughing blue eyes danced through his mind, smiling at him mischievously...And suddenly it all clicked. Sally, the one woman feisty enough to get past the carefully erected barriers around his heart…his beautiful and spirited partner...his Sai Lien... no, his Sally...He froze as another more sobering realization wracked his excited heart. I love her...I ve loved her ever since that day in the elders council chamber when I defended her from her father. Wufei's eyes closed with the import of his discovery.
And now she was once again at her father's maniacal mercy. She had been used as a bargaining chip. As payment. His dark eyes blazed open. Not if I have anything to say about it… Wufei had just found Sai Lien again after thirteen years and danged if he was going to lose her now.
Po Chen glared menacingly at the younger man. "Would you care to join your fellow in disgrace, Lieutenant Warren?"
The older soldier put a hand on Warrens arm. "No Tim. Don't risk your neck for me."
The soldier stepped back saluting and turned a sharp about face. Without a backwards glance he left the room and marched down the hall.
Zechs' icy blue eyes smoldered as his mind took in what he heard. He stifled the anger that threatened to bubble over. He had not realized that Sally had a father, but if this man had actually done what the soldier had said and used his daughter as payment… Bad enough that he had done it at all, but he had done it to Sally. She was a colleague and a friend.
The sudden movement at his shoulder reminded Zechs that Wufei was still there. But if Zechs did not do something now he would not be for long.
Zechs grabbed the Gundam pilots arm forcing him to meet his eyes. Wufei was angrier than Preventer Wind ever recalled seeing him. The set of his jaw and the iron fist he held his gun with spoke volumes. That and the embers of rage barely checked burning in his dark eyes. The message was all too clear.
Wufei wanted to kill Po then and there. It was a sentiment that Zechs heartily concurred with. But something that Zechs could not allow; no matter how tempting it was. Their priority was to rescue a Preventer.
Wufei's hand closed about the grip of his weapon in a white-knuckled fist. He was itching to put aside the secrecy of stealth and squeeze the man's throat until he ceased to breathe. He balled his hands into fists, nails cutting into his palms and drawing blood. Only the firm grip of the Lightening Count on his arm kept him from charging into the room and killing that monster.
Reluctantly, Wufei silently acknowledged the reason behind Zechs restraining hand. The timing was off. Satisfying as it would prove, it would also delay his finding Sally. And he had a feeling if they did not reach her soon…
Sensing Wufei's self-control returning, the Lightening Count watched with a calculating gleam as the officer who had been dismissed by Po Chen walked by. A plan was forming in his mind; both the way to find Sally quickly and the way to apprehend her sleazy father.
Zechs motioned his head indicating that he wanted Wufei to move into ear shot. "I think that soldier might prove sympathetic to the idea of Sallys rescue. Split up. You follow him and find her. Meanwhile, I'll deal with Chen."
Wufei nearly argued with Zechs. Nearly. After all, Wufei wanted to be the one to meet out justice to this…this…monster. But he also wanted to be the one to rescue Sally. No not wanted, needed to be the one to rescue her. After a moments silence Wufei nodded his head once.
Narrowing his eyes, he took one long lingering look at figure of Po Chen. "Another time, then. And I assure you there will be one."
With that Wufei took off at a stealthy pace disappearing into the bowels of the base.
The soldier stepped out of the doorway to the base's nerve center. Lifting a cigarette to his lips, he inhaled as the tip ignited and glowed red in the darkness. Drawing in deeply he pulled the object away from his lips and exhaled a cloud of blue smoke. Blast! If only there was something I could do…his brow furrowed as he glanced towards a certain Pre-fabricated shelter.
The place out side was fairly crawling with Middle Eastern men all on one type of duty or another. There is no way I can approach that shelter without being caught and even if I could find a way in…
The soldier glanced down at the smoldering cigarette quite suddenly found its taste bitter on his tongue. He dropped the offending object into the dirt. Even if I could find a way in and somehow miraculously manage to rescue Major Sally, there is still one hundred feet and some three thousand men in between us and freedom. And he did not like those odds. Not one bit.
He growled a curse under his breath as he watched Al-Arish approach one of his guards. Both men exchanged words in their native tongue and Arish slapped the man amiably on the back. Turning towards the hut he pulled open the door allowing a rectangle of yellow light to play across his muscular form.
It was either now or never. The soldier knew that he could not abandon Major Sally to such a fate. She had been his comrade and at times a friend. She was smart as a whip, beautiful if not pugnacious, and above all she was a woman of character. She knew right from wrong and was not above pointing out truth if one was in error. She was an officer he had been proud to serve under because he knew she would not ask one of her men to do something she would not. And there and then, the soldier decided to act even if it cost him his life.
He moved to take a step forward when a sudden movement caught his peripheral. Turning his head, he squinted into the shadows knowing someone was there.
"Freeze." a low voice whispered to him.
And freeze the soldier did. For even in the quiet undertones of that voice, the soldier detected cold steel. In the shadows of the doorway He could barely make out the shape of a man. The darkness hid his assailant's face but the lower part of his legs gleamed in the moonlight, revealing his boots and the military green of his pant legs. In front of that menacing shape the moonlight glinted of the pewter muzzle of the weapon he held.
The soldier held his breath not daring to hope. That particular green was worn as field uniform by the Preventers. And if that was indeed the case, the soldier was looking on someone who was sent by that organization. Which meant … Rescue… The man's next words only confirmed the soldiers suspicions.
"If you value your life, youll tell me where they have taken Sally Po. Now."
The soldier leaned against the building casually making no sudden movements that would give the Preventer reason to shoot him. But neither did he call out to the guards who were mere feet away.
The man lit another cigarette casually. "You are a Preventer, aren't you?"
"Where is Sally Po?"
Nonchalantly, the soldier watched as the lazy stream of smoke rose from his cigarette and dissipated into the cold night air. "You're here to rescue her?"
Silence for a moment. "Yes. Where is she?"
"Her father gave her to some arms dealer by the name of Al-Arish as payment for a shipment of ammo."
The soldier quirked an eyebrow at the shadowy figure when the Preventer emitted a rather ominous growl. "I've heard things about that sleaze. Especially in regards to women. And not good things let me tell you. Can you imagine a father who would give his own child to a man like that?" The soldiers tone was angry and bitter. "Understand me, Preventer, I don't hold with Relena Darlian's ways, but this…?"
The soldier stared grimly at his cigarette. They would kill him for what he was about to do, of that he was certain. But if he did nothing to help Sally now he would not be able to live with himself anyway. He sighed. They could only kill him once.
He sensed the Preventer shift his weight impatiently.
"Over there." The soldier dropped his cigarette and stomped on it. He used the movement to cover the subtle hand gesture he made towards the Pre-fab shelter. "Preventer, if you are going to save her you had better hurry. Al-Arish is already in there. You're dealing with maybe three guards. They come through about every fifteen minutes. And before you ask why I would give you that info, I have my own reasons. This was the one thing that I could do to help her. Tell Major Sally that Lt. Dell sends his greetings."
She hasn't been Major Sally since the Gundam wars. But if he knew her then…He just might want to help her. And if what he said was in fact true…
Al-Arish… It looked like Wufei would get him after all. But if that guy so much as touched his Sally… Wufei growled and clicked the safety on his automatic. He would not be bringing the man in alive.
Wufei watched as the soldier turned and walked away from the building. Then his eyes fell on the hut. Readjusting his grip on his weapon, he stepped from the deep doorway and peered around the edge of the building.
Three men all armed with Uzis strode past laughing and speaking jovially with each other as the door to the hut opened. Running as fast as her legs could carry her was a woman of dark skin carrying a bundle in her arms. She glanced back at the door of the shelter apprehensively.
Blinded by her fear she ran smack into one off the three men. He shoved her while the other two jeered maliciously. She jerked herself to her feet and took off like there was no tomorrow causing the two men in front to laugh. The third glared daggers as he knocked the other two in the head. The laughter died down as he scolded the others and once again they resumed their rounds
Wufei stiffened feeling a new sense of urgency. Come on, come on. Sally was in there…and so was Arish… he needed in there now! Move…
The instant the guards were out of eyeshot Wufei crouched low to the ground and ran in as fast as physically possible. He was just reaching for the door knob when he heard something that fairly ripped his heart from his chest.
His eyes burst open wide. He had heard the unmistakable sound of a woman screaming. Sally…!
Throwing caution to the wind Wufei threw open the door and glanced around the room. His eyes fell on the figure of a man passionately kissing a fighting woman.
That man's hand had the woman by her blond hair his other grabbed at her cruelly. She struggled unsuccessfully against his attentions.
The man had to have been Al-Arish. And the woman he was kissing was Sally…
Wufei's jaw clenched and he raised his automatic mechanically. He pulled the trigger once, twice…