Author's note: Hiya! Apologies for the late update, everyone. I was getting a little writer's block and realized that there was a little mix-up in the timeline of the narrative. I hope I haven't screwed it up too much. I thought this chapter was lousy, compared to the rest, unfortunately. :( But I didn't really know how to improve it. What do you think?
Chapter 21:
The target was a woman living in a fetid little cubical edifice made entirely of bricks. It was boxed in by dark, wet alleys on each side, a dilapidated car park in the back and a rundown street in the front. A fucked-up neighbourhood, where no one gave a damn about anyone else and where no one would think twice about a gunshot or a scream in the late of the night.
Perfect.
They pulled over in the car park, in a dark blue van with tinted windows and Sting killed the engine. In the ensuing silence, Kira scanned the car park through the back window. Despite the gloom, he could see perfectly – every nook and cranny – and immediately picked out the shadows in the beat-up truck across the car park.
"We've got company," he muttered.
Stellar clambered across the seat to glance over his shoulder, "who are they?"
"The police."
"Are you sure?" Auel frowned. "Why should the police be camped out here in a shitty neighbourhood just to protect this woman? Who the hell is she?"
"Rau's orders were to eliminate her at all cost. Her identity doesn't concern us." Kira shot a warning glance in Auel's direction and the pale blue-haired man backed off. He knew that tone in Kira's voice. End of discussion.
Kira pointed at the beat-up truck, "Auel, Stellar, get rid of them."
A grin lit up Stellar's face, "Easy peasy." Without hesitation, she reached for her right sleeve and ripped it off its seam to expose her flawless white shoulder. Then she tore at the front of her blouse, scattering buttons across the floor of the van, and exposing the corner of her black bra. "Honey," Auel laughed, his eyes flashing dangerously in the darkness, "You're just out to seduce us, aren't you?"
She laughed and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. "Don't be too rough with me, darling," she whispered. Before Auel could come up with his snide remark, she had thrown open the sliding door of the van and took off, dashing towards the beat-up truck.
Auel shook his head. "Oh, such a seductress," he winked mischievously before leaping out of the van in pursuit.
Kira and Sting watched from the shadows as their teammates ran across the vacant carpark, Stellar taking the lead. Auel caught up to her inches away from the truck and she began to shriek, kicking wildly. Her cries echoed in the dead silence of the night. A slap across the cheek had her flying across the hood of the truck and she scrambled to her feet, diving for the door of the passenger seat.
"Help me, please," she screamed, "Help me!"
"Oh my, they're such good actors."
Kira tossed a glance at Sting. The green-haired man's face was hidden in the shadows but the sly, amused grin was hard to miss. Kira returned his attention to the dramatic scene unfolding before him, just in time to see the window of the passenger seat buzz down and the head of a man was thrust out of the window.
The officer undercover yelled a warning at Auel who was approaching at a rapid pace, but he didn't finish his sentence as Auel strolled up to the open window, pulled his pistol and shot a double tap through it, killing both the officer and his partner.
Kira watched as Auel and Stellar shared a high-five and trudged back the way they had come. He smiled and slid out of the van to meet his teammates. It was time to move on.
"I'm fine, you know," Athrun sighed in exasperation as the car glided to a stop, "I'm not suicidal. You didn't have to fetch me home."
Lacus turned to smile at him as she killed the engine. "I know," she assured him, "I just thought you'll like to have some company. Since you've fetched me home so many times, I thought I'll just return the favour."
"I could have driven," Athrun protested, "I'm not so screwed up that I can't even drive straight. Besides, you don't think I'm going to let you make your way home alone from here, do you? I'm going to have to fetch you home now."
Lacus laughed at his comment. "Don't be silly. I've got my transport arranged: the chauffeur's coming to pick me up. Don't take it to heart, Athrun, I'm not trying to bruise your male ego."
Athrun shook his head, a faint smile gracing his lips. The undercurrent of tension and sadness in him had faded but exhaustion was now eating away at him, the aftereffect of the near breakdown he had experienced in his office.
He opened the passenger door and stepped out onto the pavement, glancing around the neat little neighbourhood over the top of the car. Both sides of the street were flanked with low houses of one or two-storeys. His apartment was located at the corner, a modern one-storey house painted grey and shaped like an 'L'. Back when he had first entered the law enforcement agency, he had refused Siegel Clyne's offer to finance his accomodation and had scrimped and saved every penny to buy this charming apartment. Furnished with his own bar, stylistic furniture and a state-of-the-art hi-fi system, it was a tasteful bachelor's pad. He had always been proud of it – it was a symbol of his effort and his independence – and it was good to finally be home.
Until he saw the light blazing in his living room window.
He froze, his hand flying instinctively to the butt of his gun. "Lacus," he hissed, "stay in the car." He tossed a glance in the direction of the driver's seat and panicked at the sight of the empty seat. Glancing up frantically, he nearly passed out when he saw Lacus striding up the path to his front door, oblivious to the threat.
Shit!
There was a metal fire escape mounted behind the brick building with open steel metal gratings. The ladder was up though. Under normal circumstances, they would have brought a grappling hook with them, but this time, maybe they wouldn't need it.
Kira took a deep breath, staring up at the ladder hanging above him. He rested a palm on the rough brick wall, trying to gain bearing over his surroundings. Knees bent, he felt the rapid surge of adrenalin and the familiar coiling of tension in his thighs. But this time, there was something different. He felt different. Stronger, more powerful. Only one storey. No problem.
He exhaled and jumped, kicking at the wall to propel himself upwards and caught the last rung in his hands. The ladder swung down with an ominous clang in the otherwise silent car park.
"Nice," Sting grinned as Kira descended to the ground, "Never saw you do that before. Whatever those assholes in the lab gave us, it works like a charm." Kira returned the compliment with a smirk.
The target lived on the third floor. They scaled the ladder silently and broke through the window to get onto the landing. Her apartment was the third to the right.
"Mine?" Auel whispered, grinning maniacally as they crowded around her door.
"Why not?" Kira smiled.
Sting slipped on a pair of black gloves and pressed the rusty doorbell. They heard the buzz from within the apartment and there was a minute of silence before a rustle of movement.
"Who's that?" A voice laced with exhaustion but full of wariness.
Kira glanced at Stellar pointedly and she caught on. "I'm so sorry to disturb you at this hour, Mdm," Stellar's voice was heavily accented, "My employer - Mr. Roanoke? He came just now and said he left something in your bedroom. He sent me to pick it up for him."
"Do you know what time it is? Why the fuck can't he pick it up tomorrow?" The wariness was immediately replaced with impatient annoyance.
"Sorry, Mdm. So sorry. He doesn't want his wife to be suspicious. Mr. Roanoke sends me to get it back before morning. I've got money, Mdm. He sent me with some money to pay you back for the inconvenience."
The woman cursed. Then there was the sound of the door chain being released and fumbling at the doorknob.
Auel cocked his gun.
"What the fuck did he leave behind?" The door flew open and a woman appeared in the doorway, her hands on her hips. Disheveled, dirty blonde hair, a bony frame and small furious eyes in a sunken face that glared daggers at them. Bingo.
Auel didn't hesitate.
The woman fell to the ground, her mouth frozen in a scream that hadn't had time to escape her throat. Her small beady eyes were wide with terror. Blood spilled from the bullet wound in her chest and pooled on the filthy floor. She had fallen to the ground, just short of the door and Sting closed it quietly with his gloved hand.
They descended down the fire escape ladder with Kira bringing up the rear. He lifted the ladder again as the last of his team reached the ground floor and he swung himself over the metal railing to the ground, breaking his fall easily and lithely with a tuck and roll. They clambered into the van, pausing only to glance at the unmoving shadows in the beat-up truck. Then Sting revved up the engine and the dark blue van pulled out of the car park.
Mission accomplished. No problem.
Author's note: I only have one thing to say: Review, review, review!