Author's note: Yay, next chappie! Bit more action in this one.
Chapter 12:
"Why the hell did you give her your name?"
Kira ignored the question shot at him, resolutely working on removing the contents in his pockets and shrugging off his jacket.
A fist shot towards his face and he quickly deflected it, but the edge of Clotho's knuckles still clipped his jaw. "I'm asking you a question, asshole!" Clotho Buer snarled, the mop of fiery red hair covering his livid eyes made him look wilder and more uncontrollable. "Why the hell did you give her your freaking name?"
His anger roused, Kira turned infuriated eyes on him. "And why the hell does this concern you?" He hissed, "we're on a mission. We're on the move right now. So do what you need to do and keep your nose out of my business. " Then he glared at Orga Sabnak. "Keep your teammate under control or I'll do it!" Clotho's face darkened and he try to punch Kira again but Orga grasped his fist before it could land.
"That's enough, Clotho." Orga admonished coolly, his eyes glinting dangerously in the darkness. "Don't forget the mission. The rest, we can deal with later."
The red-haired man settled down, still seething with anger and glaring daggers at Kira. But Kira ignored it, as well as the concerned gaze Stellar was bestowing upon him and the strange look Auel was looking at him with.
They had slipped out of the Clyne Mansion into cold, frigid night air and were huddled against the outside wall, underneath the window of the study room on the second floor. The study was located in the left wing and overlooked a marble fountain and a thicket of bushes that provided them excellent cover as they stripped out of their tuxedoes and gowns.
Kira turned his jacket inside out to reveal a woolen material which seemed to absorb the darkness around him. He shrugged it on and zipped it up to hide the white shirt he was wearing. Then he did the same with his trousers. Beside him, Auel, Clotho and Orga were adorning themselves in their black garb. The women had a little more trouble with their silk gowns which tore on the branches of the bush. But they managed to tuck and fold their gowns neatly to reveal their black inner linings. Underneath, both Stellar and Orga's female companion were wearing dark stockings. Soon, they were all dressed in impenetrable black. Using black handkerchiefs, they hid their faces and covered their hair and donned their black gloves.
Stellar uncapped the tube of lipstick in her pocket and broke off the waxy substance to reveal a hollowed out casing. Aiming it at the ledge of the study window like a gun barrel, she shot a grappling hook from the aluminium tube, black wire uncoiling rapidly as the grappling hook sailed through the air. It landed and caught onto the window ledge with a soft ping. Stellar tugged hard on the wire once to ensure it was secure.
Upon Orga's signal, Kira began to scale the wall. It was only two stories but not an easy feat because the wall was polished smooth and his shoes failed to get a good grip. The night air was cold and dry and stung his face as he climbed. The grounds were silent except for the muffled sounds of music and conversation coming from within the house. Eventually, he made it to the window ledge and stopped short of it. The window ledge was projected outwards like a platform or a shelter. He glanced over it and scanned the room inside quickly, ready to duck if a bullet came whistling through the air towards him. The lights were off and the room was empty. Through the gap underneath the study door, he caught a glimpse of the light shifting in the corridor. There were people outside. Pacing to and fro. Guards.
He ducked down again and gave a soft whistle. His comrades were barely visible in the darkness and he was probably invisible to them too, but he heard the whoosh of something thrown and Stellar's gold pen and make-up compact case were tossed up at him one after another. He caught them easily, paused for a second to note any disturbances in the air. No snapping of twigs, or cocking of guns, or yelling. Assured, he pulled himself up onto the ledge to do his work.
The gold pen had a hidden spray which Kira used generously on the glass of the window. A web of red beams faded into view. So, they had installed a laser trigger alarm system. Kira frowned. They thought that this would stop them? The police department was either underestimating them or… Kira had an uneasy feeling about all this. He couldn't quite lay a finger on it, but it didn't seem to add up. The ease at which they could infiltrate the place, the lack of officers and patrol teams… He shrugged off it off as he worked on getting the make-up compact case lodged in an angle so that the mirror could deflect the laser beams. He cleared an area big enough for him and his teammates to crawl through. Then fishing for his bunch of keys which disguised his pick locking tools, he picked at the clasp holding the window shut.
"This is K reporting," he muttered as he heard the soft click of the lock unbolting itself, "I've got the laser beams redirected and the lock disengaged. All clear."
"T, take over the security cameras," Orga instructed, "H, can you detect any alarm systems inside the study?"
They waited in tensed silence for a response. Meanwhile, Kira remained crouched on the window ledge, his fingers holding the window sill steadily. Waiting for the signal.
Shani replied first. "This is H reporting. There is an alarm system and motion detector connected to the window but I've shut them both down . No frequencies from hidden cameras or listening bugs. It's all clear."
Kira took the time to study the room closely. It was a simple rectangular space, as drawn in the map. Furnished with heavy mahogany fixtures, one side of the room was flanked with shelves laden with books. On the other side was a heavy leather chair behind a large table. The floors were covered in Persian rugs. There was a security camera fixed above the study door and another located behind the leather chair. They swiveled on their hinges, running the length of the room. Kira watched them closely, and he saw the tiny green light on each camera blink and turn red. As if on cue, he heard Sting's voice in his ear, "This is T reporting. All cameras are in lockdown. I've gained control over them. You have five minutes to get in and out. Over."
"K, open the window."
The window sill lifted an inch when Kira pried his fingers underneath. He paused, waited to hear an ear-splitting ring and see dozens of officers charging into the room brandishing their weapons. But when he heard and saw neither, he inched the window sill open and hauled himself through it. He landed stealthily on the carpeted floor, crouched low. "This is K reporting. I'm in."
"So, any trouble?"
Athrun glanced around and smiled when Lacus handed him a glass of red wine.
"Any suspicious goings-on?" She grinned, leaning against the banister.
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, no," Athrun replied, taking a sip from his glass. He glanced down from the rooftop at the dark, inky grounds below. He spotted Team #1 pacing on the portico and weaving through the flowerbeds and bushes.
Behind him, the rooftop was crowded with guests. The pool was filled with swimmers and the deckchairs were all occupied. The cocktail bar at the corner was hidden from sight by the people streaming to and from it. On the other end, a DJ was blasting music from his speakers.
He wondered if this festive atmosphere would remain like that all night. Or if there would be a drastic change. He hoped not. Protecting the vial was important. But top priority was the safety of all these guests. No causalities. He had told his team. So easily said, but so difficult to achieve if a violent criminal was involved, or if a gunfight was going to take place.
Damn.
"I'm going down to the backyard to look around," Athrun pushed himself off the banister and flashed a sheepish smile at Lacus. "I'm sorry. I'm not a really good date tonight-"
Lacus cut him off with a dismissive wave of her champagne glass. "Go on, big guy," she grinned, "go ahead and do what you need to do." Then she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek, before pushing him off in the direction of the stairs encouragingly.
They found the safe box without much trouble. It was hidden in a small cupboard underneath the heavy mahogany table. Stellar pressed her ear to the steel door and began spinning the knob. Kira knelt beside her, holding the pen-torch so that she could see.
"Half a minute," Orga murmured, glancing at his watch.
The night bore with it a stale coldness that made Athrun pull his jacket around himself tighter. He nodded at one of the officers who strolled past him on patrol.
There was a little burst of static through his earpiece. "Uhm, Chief?" Athrun immediately picked up the tension and strain in the voice. He paused in his step and pressed a finger to his earpiece so that he could hear better. "What's wrong, Nicol?"
"I think we have a problem with the security cameras." Athrun felt his heartbeat quicken and the adrenalin pulsing through his blood.
"And it appears that our alarm system has been bridged. The motion detectors are not picking up anything too."
Athrun was already running across the garden before Nicol could finish what he was saying. He wasn't going to let them escape this time.
"Hurry, Stellar," Kira urged. Sweat was beading on her forehead, trickling down her brow. Her eyebrows were knitted together in concentration. "Have you got it?" Clotho hissed from the doorway, throwing an errant glare over his shoulder. "Shut up, you idiot," Stellar threw back. Clotho's expression darkened with anger, but he clenched his jaw and held his tongue, returning his attention to the door. She spun the knob quickly clockwise, then anti-clockwise again. "Come on, come on," she muttered underneath her breath.
"Two minutes," Orga said coolly, raising two fingers. "You need to hurry."
Stellar ignored him, her deft fingers twisting the metal knob urgently. Then her expression changed and a hopefulness lit up her amber eyes. With a click, the metal safe door swung open. "Yes!" She punched a fist into the air, throwing a quick triumphant glance in Kira's direction.
Kira grinned back at her. "Well done, sweetheart." She shifted aside so that Kira could reach into the safe. It was empty save for a small metal briefcase. Kira rested it on his lap.
"Give me the fingerprint, Stellar."
Stellar had duplicated Siegel Clyne's fingerprint using a device she had hidden in her hand when they had shared a handshake. She removed the device now which looked like a tiny screen with buttons. Imprinted on it, was an unmistakable fingerprint. She connected the device to the biometric sensor of the suitcase and digits, numerals and digital jargon flashed across the screen. In less than a minute, there was a click and the latch sprung apart.
Nestled in the velvet interior of the case was a vial of pale yellow liquid. Kira lifted it up and shone the pen-torch at it so that a ray of light was reflected of it. Finally, they had got the target.
He was about to return it into its metal case when he felt the cold, hard metal of a gun barrel against the back of his skull. "Put it down."