Heero parked the SUV a short distance from the warehouse district. He and Duo climbed out of the SUV and made their way on foot. They crept through the streets, shining their flashlights around, searching for signs of…
Well… Heero wasn't sure what they were looking for. The only clue they had was the van driving toward this side of town. But that van could be literally anywhere.
"This is pointless," Heero grumbled as they passed what felt like their millionth warehouse. "We have nothing to go on."
"I forgot how desolate this area is," Duo said.
Heero closed his eyes and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"Hey, look!"
Duo nudged Heero in the side. Heero popped his eyes open and followed Duo's pointed finger. There were tire tracks in the dirt.
Fresh tire tracks.
Heero approached them and knelt down beside the tracks. He had no idea if they matched the van. It could be another dead end. He took out his phone and snapped a few pictures of the tread marks. He rose back up and followed the tracks toward another building. Duo followed behind, careful not to step in the tracks.
The door the tracks led from had a new lock on the overhead door. Heero bashed the lock with the butt end of his flashlight, and it crumpled easily.
"I could have picked that lock, ya know," Duo commented.
"Hn. This is faster."
Heero and Duo reached down to the bottom of the door and forced it up along its track. The metal parts screeched against each other until they stopped pushing and slipped inside.
They found the van. It was parked inside the loading dock, silent and empty. Heero shined the flashlight into the windows of the van, looking for some other clue. He spotted something peeking out from behind the passenger side seat. Heero wrenched the door open and climbed inside the van. He sat in the driver's seat and reached behind the passenger seat, his fingers curling around a piece of fabric. As the silky fabric pooled in his lap, his breath caught in his throat.
"This is Relena's," Heero said, lifting the robe up by the shoulder seams.
"How do you know," Duo asked pointedly. Heero pointed to the initials R.D. embroidered into the material. "Oh."
Heero climbed out of the van and bundled the robe up into a ball, shoving it in his pack.
"So, she was here," Heero said. "I have a feeling that is no longer the case."
"Well, then, where did they take her?"
"No idea."
They walked through the loading dock and pushed through a door leading further into the warehouse. It was dirty and dusty, but there were signs that people had been inside the building recently, like footprints on the dusty floors. Heero and Duo walked along a hallway, looking through the open doorways.
"Heero," Duo said, throwing his arm out to stop Heero from moving further.
"What?"
"Look."
Heero shifted around Duo and peered inside the room that was lit up by Duo's flashlight. It looks like a laboratory, and it was recently used. The stench of chemicals hung in the air. Heero pushed the door open further and stepped inside. Shining his flashlight along the tables, he saw various pieces of equipment that looked new. He stopped in front of one station and bent down. There was a vial with something blue settled in the bottom. He picked up the vial and held it up.
"The heck is that?" Duo asked.
"I don't know. But I'm suspicious."
Heero looked around and saw a stopper for the vial. He tucked it into his pack.
That's when he noticed a red blinking light in the upper corner of the lab. He lifted the beam of his flashlight to the blinking light and saw a security camera.
"Shit. Let's get out of here," Heero said, turning and pushing Duo toward the door. They bolted down the hallway and through the loading dock, leaving the overhead door open behind them.
The back door of the truck flew open. Relena squinted her eyes against the bright lights shining on her face. A group of people dressed in black, wearing balaclavas over their faces, reached into the truck and pulled her down onto the ground. She landed on her feet, her legs stabilizing her quickly before someone shoved her in the back. But she held against their push.
"Welcome, Relena Darlian."
The woman's familiar voice broke through the chatters of those surrounding her. Relena squinted through the spotlights and saw the woman approaching. She held a long pole in one hand. Something flipped in Relena's stomach.
"What did you do to me?" Relena asked, glaring at the woman, who emerged into the circle of light, smiling that wicked smile.
"We've been experimenting on a new drug that would provide the patient with enough physical strength to harness my new invention."
Relena's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
"Come, let me show you." The woman turned around, but when Relena didn't move, she looked back over her shoulder. "Aren't you in the least bit curious?"
Damn it.
Relena stepped forward, following the woman through the lights. Several people fell into step behind her, and she noticed that they also carried the same kind of long pole that the woman was carrying. Relena had a feeling those were to keep her under control.
They walked together through the hallways of the large building. Relena's senses were stronger than she was used to, and she could pick up the smell of sweat and fear on those who followed behind her. A metallic smell permeated the space as well, which felt familiar but Relena didn't know why.
"If you're going to experiment on me, you can at least tell me your name," Relena commented to the woman.
"Fair enough. My name is Clara Hall. I was a member of OZ before your Gundams destroyed everything."
"OZ was an evil organization," Relena shot back.
Clara huffed a laugh.
"Perhaps you were on the wrong side of the war," Clara said. Relena crossed her arms over her chest and didn't reply. The blue in her veins shone in the dim light of the hallway.
After several minutes, Clara stopped in front of a large door. She waved an arm like she was a merchant hocking her wares.
"Here we are," she said, smiling. Her hand punched the keypad, and the doors slid open. Clara stepped inside, motioning for Relena to follow her.
"Oh no."
It was as Relena suspected. Clara Hall had built a mobile suit.
It rose in front of her, much larger than the Gundams were. Its red-hued eyes stared at her. Relena looked down, seeing its legs stretch down and down, several stories below the surface. It was painted matte black with white trim. The gaping maw of the cockpit waited for her presence.
"This is Animus, my newest mobile suit. It is designed to house one person." Clara turned to stare at Relena. "And that person is you."
"Why me?" Relena asked, not daring to take her eyes off the mobile suit in front of her.
"Because of the irony that I will enjoy as you destroy everything you've worked to create," Clara said. She stepped toward Relena, grabbed her by the chin, and yanked Relena's face so she was staring into Clara's eyes. "You took everything from me, and this is how you'll repay me."
"What are you talking about?" Relena said, pulling away, batting Clara's hand away from her face.
"Trezie had promised the rule of the Earth to me," she hissed, staring daggers at Relena. "I was considered the American princess, and Treize said I would take over control of the Earth Sphere. And yet, he chose you."
"That was hardly my doing," Relena said.
Clara threw a hand up.
"I don't want to hear your excuses and denials," Clara said. "Now, you're going on your first mission, and you'll do everything I say."
"And if I don't?" Relena asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She could feel her power surging through her body. She resisted the urge just to punch Clara in the face, but something about that rod she held stayed Relena's hand.
Clara's lips twitched into her patented wicked smile.
"You don't have a choice."
She lowered the rod in her hand, touching the tip to Relena's shoulder. A shock of electricity coursed through Relena's body. She slammed to the ground on her knees. Relena tried to resist, but she couldn't stop the debilitating shock. When Relena thought her head would explode from pain, the shock stopped. Relena fell forward on her hands.
"The weakness we built into the serum is electricity," Clara explained. "So, if you do anything out of turn, then this will happen."
Clara touched the rod to Relena's shoulder once more, and Relena collapsed on the floor. The coursing electricity through Relena's body was the worst pain she'd ever experienced. Sweat formed on her forehead as she tried to resist the pain. Clara withdrew the rod.
"Now, get in the suit."