Waking Up In Vegas
Chapter 46
Duke Dermail clapped his hands. "Excellent. I knew you'd see it my way. Mueller? Untie her. Bring our darling to the next room."
Jezzy spat on Mueller when his hand decided to take a detour when he was untying her. "Bitch," he said, backhanding her.
"MUELLER!" Dermail screeched. "You will not harm her. We need her quite functional. At least until *later*."
"And don't try anything, bitch," Mueller said, jerking her to her feet. "Or Trant's gonna fillet your boy-toy like a fish."
Gray eyes darted to where Trant now had a switchblade, idly opening and closing it... one hand still securing Jasper tot he chair.
"Jezzy!" Jasper went to stand up, but Trant placed the blade against his neck.
"Try it again," Trant said. "I dare you."
Jezzy glared at Trant, then switched her eyes to Dermail. "Tell your dog to back down. If Jasper gets hurt... then I kill all three of you where you stand."
Dermail chuckled. "Feisty. I like her. Trant," he waved a hand. "Don't have too much fun while we're gone, alright?" He disappeared through a door and into a different room.
Jezzy's eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings as Mueller shoved her through to the other room. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her chest... and not just because of the pain that shot through her when Mueller shoved against her tender ribs. Of course, she'd known. How could she not? It was the reason she was here. The reason so many people were getting hurt.
But still, it was a shock to see Wing Zero.
It looked innocent. It looked for all the world like some kind of glorified arcade game. The kind where you sat in the booth to play. The exterior was silver, with the thin design of wings etched into it in blue, glinting in the paled light of the room. She could barely see inside, where the 'pilot' would sit. The keyboards, the screen all black and un-lit.
"Your passcodes are all still valid, I hope," Dermail questioned. Jezzy nodded.
"Good. Mueller, let her go. Jezebel, my dear? Please be a doll." He rattled off a set of coordinates. "That's your first target. I think one of those magnificent missiles should take care of it."
Jezzy glared at him. "That's Washington D.C."
He smirked. "Specifically the White house... the West Wing. It will kill all morale amongst Americans and make my goals easier to accomplish. Now... Do it."
"No," she said. "There are innocent people there!"
"A small number. Insignificant. Just like your little friend back there. Now get in that infernal contraption and launch a missile at the White House!" Dermail tried to stare her down. She didn't flinch, but kept eye contact as she bowed her head just a bit.
Jerking roughly away from Mueller, she walked towards the Wing, slipping inside and settling down into the rather uncomfortable seat. She took the small round sensor and pressed it lightly against her neck, flush against her spine.
"Good girl," Dermail murmured, eyes taking in the sight gleefully.
Z. E. R. O. Jezzy typed the four letters into the keypad beside her. Automatically, the lights around the small cockpit like machine blinked on. An eerie glow filled the cockpit as the whole thing was cast in darkness and the keypads and screens lit up.
"Jezebel Hartisan," she said.
"User acknowledged. Authorization Code required," the computer replied.
Jezebel's fingers nimbly typed a series of ten numbers into the keypad. Her breath caught as the screens blinked into warp speed and the neural connection was made. Lights swirled around her, numbers and equations running through her mind as images formed in and out. Even closing her eyes, she could still see what ZERO was showing her. The screen wasn't necessary... her mind *was* the screen. Scenarios for this, scenarios for that. ZERO showed her exactly what would happen.
She knew what she had to do. She'd know what she was going to do before she even stepped into the control, and the system only reaffirmed her decision.
She knew it was irrational, but she felt that ZERO agreed with her. As if the machine knew what she wanted to do... and was making it as easy as possible. Could a computer program become sentient? She didn't know. She didn't care. All she knew was what she had to do.
"I'm sorry, Jasper," she whispered, tapping the command onto the pad, focusing on the set of coordinates the computer supplied her with. And almost immediately, it began. She ran a hand lightly along the metal around her. "I'm sorry, Wing. It had to be done."
She typed in another code, then reached down and pushed a button hidden safely along the side of the seat. The machine shut down. Not just another shut down... wires and connections fried as an electrical surge swept through the machine. The Wing Zero efectively killed itself.
"What? What did you do?" Dermail raced forward as she stepped from the control. The hissing and crackling of wires frying gave her actions away. "What did you do, you fool girl!"
He backhanded her, knocking her back against the machine she'd stepped from. She just smirked. wiping a dab of blood away from her mouth.
"What should have been done along time ago. Destroying Wing... and you."
Dermail's eyes bugged out of his head as the realization hit him. "You didn't! You wouldn't!"
"It's just like you said... Insignificant. What's your life and mine compared to the fate of the world?"
"Stupid girl! How long until it reaches us?"
Jezzy smirked. "Oh... there's about a ten second delay for the missile to launch. And another minute thirty seconds for it to reach here from their location. So I'd say... we've got about a minute." She smiled as Dermail screamed in rage and turned to run out of the room, back the way they'd come, a confused Mueller hot on his heels. They wouldn't get very far. Not far at all.
She slid down the unyielding surface of Wing, giggling madly at the irony of it all. Dermail would be killed by the very machine he wanted to control. And she would meet the death she'd cheated once before. She leaned her head back against the cool metal, clutching at her dog tags... the tags that said 'Heero Yuy'.
"Sayonara, Big Brother," she laughed.
#
Heero stood up, and held his hand out. Trowa took the assistance and pulled himself up.
"Now, let's go find..."
Both nearly jumped as Heero's cell phone shrilled. They looked at each other, then Heero pulled it out.
"Yuy," he answered. Trowa watched as Heero's eyes widened. "No. I'm a few blocks from Sandrock. Yes... I can get a cab and be there in ten minutes. I sent four of my companions... two male, two female... on ahead to Quatre. One of them is armed. Yeah. Of course. ETA, ten minutes." He snapped the phone shut, then looked at Trowa.
"Sorry, pal, but I'm not going to get Quatre. They've finally got a GPS lock on my sister. Can you find it back to Sandrock on your own?"
Trowa thought. "Yeah. But I'm not going. I'll help you."
"This isn't a game. She's in danger, and it's likely to get very messy. Go to Quatre."
"No. You can't do this alone, Heero. Duo and Wufei will protect Quatre... I know them. But things should be fixed by those with the power to fix them. That's why I was upset with Quatre. I can help you."
Heero looked torn for a moment, but then nodded. "If you insist, I won't stop you. It's your life."
Heero shouldered his bag and left the alley, Trowa on his heels. Rin was stepping out of the bar.
"So... everything settled?" She asked.
"Yeah," Heero said. "Flag us a cab?"
Trowa looked at the busy road. They'd never catch a cab. But the petite bartender smirked. "Sure thing, Heero." She walked to the curb and let out an ear piercing whistle while holding her hand out. It wasn't but a moment before one of the yellow taxi cabs pulled over.
"Be safe, Heero!" Rin called out as the two men jumped in the cab.
"Thirteenth Warehouse, Old Edwards Road. And step on it," Heero told the driver.
"You got it," the cabbie said, and pulled back out into the traffic.