Author's note: Hey there! Here's the next chappie. So sorry for the delay – I've been out most of this week and I had a little trouble working out the details in this chappie. But hope all's well now!
FTS-peace: I'm glad the asucaga relationship is working out. I really have to think long and hard about it. Thanks for the comment, about how Cagalli can be considered Athrun's 'saviour' in GS? That makes sense! And it gave me a way of thinking about their relationship here, so thank you! I'm glad you like it! I hope there's more coming up!
Seiba Artoria: I do hope the explosion and the way Yzak and Athrun handled it were good...? Yes, I do agree, Athrun is so smart! Must be the coordinator genes! Hehehe… And about Cagalli shooting Kira, well, I guess she just wanted to distract Kira and protect Athrun… At least I thought of it that way when I was writing it… hmm…
hardcoreGSfan: Hehehe, I really hope Kira doesn't get back at me! I love him too much! And oh, careful! It's not worth getting hurt over a fanfic! Scientists should design chairs with seatbelts, yup yup… And I hope all your projects are going well! :) Hopefully the all-nighters will pay off.
Moi: I'm excited for the twin's reunion too! I'm working up to it, and hope it'll be good eventually! Yeah well, about Cagalli shooting, I just thought it would be a way of Cagalli distracting Kira to prevent him from shooting Athrun… maybe that'll trigger something in Kira, hmm… And yup, I'm glad Seiran's out of the picture too! That way, Athrun can really do what he needs to do!
Animedoshia: Thank you, for the support and the reviews and everything! I'm flattered, and very happy that you enjoy this fanfic! Hope to get your support all the way to the end!
Ragingwing004: Well, I am glad too that Seiran's gone. It's payback for everything he did to Athrun in GS and GSD! I never liked the fact that he was bullying Athrun all the time in the anime! Serves him right!
And with that, let us move on! Please read and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 53:
Cagalli Yamato was the most stubborn woman he had ever seen.
And at times, Athrun loved her stubborn streak. It gave her spunk, and character. But at the present moment, Athrun hated it more than anything else. No sooner had he warned her to stay put, than the blonde woman leapt off the edge of the slope and stumbled down the side of the hill, arms flailing so that she could maintain balance despite the steep gradient.
"Oh fuck," Athrun gave himself a second to rap out the expletive, then another three or four more seconds to vent his frustration on a clump of dirt with his shoe, before he leapt off the edge after her.
The sloping side of the mound they were now on was bare and packed with soil, unlike its other side which was grassy and forested. There were no trees or bushes standing in their way, and that was good, because it made their descent easy. But that was bad too, because Athrun was aware that they were both in plain view. The four figures ahead of them were nearing the bottom of the hill, and if they turned around, they would see Athrun and Cagalli in pursuit close behind. And to make things even more harrowing than they already were, Athrun was aware of the loose dirt and soil being scuffed from under the bottoms of his shoes as he slid down the inclined plane. God, they didn't need an avalanche at this point in time. His right sneaker caught a sharp rock jutting from the surface and he stumbled, nearly falling head-over-heels as he tried to fight the momentum and the pull of gravity.
He realized in despair that ahead, the four figures, all in camouflage, had made it to flat ground and they were hustling quickly towards the parked vehicle. If they got into the car, there would be no way to catch up to them. Athrun put on a burst of speed, riding on the downwards pull, feeling like his legs would get pulled out from under him at any moment. Five feet away from the base of the slope, Athrun saw one of the figures turn and pause, as if stunned to see them so close. He swung a pistol towards them and Athrun's first reaction was to spin around and grab Cagalli, who was right behind him. They collided and tumbled to the ground off balance, with Athrun crushing her underneath his body and away from the line of fire.
But there appeared to be no need for it, because when Athrun raised his head off the ground, he saw the man with the stolen briefcase turn and grab his accomplice, pushing the gun barrel away from its target. For a second, they shared a glance – Athrun and the man who had saved them – and Athrun felt a chill run down his spine. The man's cold eyes raked over his face, emotionless, like the eyes of a murderer, but what was frightening was that in that split second, Athrun felt as if he knew those eyes.
Then the feeling was gone, as the man shoved his accomplice into the deep-blue sedan and piled in after his teammates. A rev of the engine, and the deep-blue sedan took off, tires screeching on the asphalt road.
Athrun scrambled to his feet, hauled Cagalli after him and lunged after the racing vehicle. It was already evident that the criminals had gotten a head start and the chase on foot was fruitless. The distance between him and the escaping vehicle kept lengthening, up to the point that Athrun knew even with his superb marksmanship, he couldn't take out the tires with his gun. But still, he ran on after the car. His thighs were burning, his heart thumping so hard that his chest hurt. Close behind, he could hear Cagalli's desperate wheezing as she struggled to catch up with him, and ahead, there was no sign of the car slowing even as it turned a bend and went out of sight.
No, no, no…
Athrun rounded the bend and couldn't believe his luck. There, the car had come to a halt at the mouth of the road, where the lane was merging with the highway. It had slowed down, looking for a chance to slide into the highway traffic.
He surged on. Thirty yards. Breathing hard, and trying to prevent himself from asphyxiating. Twenty yards. Almost there. Ten yards. The deep-blue sedan began to move, and it slid conveniently between two automobiles and disappeared from view, borne away by the fast-moving traffic. Athrun had just enough of breath to yell a frustrated "no!" as he skidded to a stop at the mouth of the road, staring in vain at the stream of vehicles flashing past him. What to do? What to do?
Now, contrary to belief, the best way for a cop to get a free ride wasn't to flash his ID. And besides, AC Ramius had already confiscated his card. So Athrun simply threw himself onto the highway, right in the path of an oncoming vehicle. Which happened to be a pale-green sedan that screeched to a halt inches away from him. Behind him, he heard a frightened scream from Cagalli, but he ignored it, as well as the string of fanciful curses from the driver.
And pointed his gun at the innocent man.
That shut the driver up. As well as the line of honking cars that jammed to a stop behind. Athrun ducked round the hood and opened the driver's door, gun still pointed at the man. "Get out," he barked at his victim, whose hands were up in the air. He towed the driver out by his collar, dumped him onto the road and slid behind the wheel. Beside him, Cagalli got into the passenger's seat, and anticipating the rough ride, hurriedly strapped herself down with the seatbelt. Slamming his foot into the accelerator, Athrun took off with a squeal of the wheels.
Traffic on the highway was congested, but smooth and moving fast. Athrun wove in and out of the lanes like a madman, deaf to the furious blare of horns, his intense emerald eyes scanning the vehicles for any sign of the deep-blue sedan. Fishing for his cell phone with one hand, the other still rock steady on the steering wheel, he hit speed dial and the speaker phone, and got Meyrin on the line after two rings.
"Chief, where are-"
"I need you to trace the location of a vehicle for me. Can you access the satellite imaging?" Athrun interrupted her smoothly.
"But-"
"Now, Meyrin."
The secretary let out a frustrated sigh, which was accompanied by the quick and efficient rattling of the keyboard.
"Thank you," Athrun said, swerving the car to avoid a lorry in front of him. He glanced into the rearview mirror but saw no sign of the deep-blue sedan. Where the hell were they? "It's a deep-blue sedan," he continued, "four people in it." He rattled off the plate number and told her which highway they were on so that she could narrow down the search. The highway was like the trunk of a tree, with numerous small roads leading outwards like branches. The targets could take any road and get off the highway, in which case it would be virtually impossible to find them again. There was no way they could scout the entire country in search of the deep-blue sedan with satellite imaging. It would be searching for a needle in a haystack. So they had to nail them right now, on that highway.
In fact, they could already have taken the nearest exit and left the highway. Athrun forced that thought aside. "Hurry, Meyrin."
Only the rattle of the keyboard replied him.
Then finally, after a nerve-wrecking five minutes, he heard an exclamation on the other side of the phone. "I got them!"
"Where?"
"They're not far from you. Twenty meters up ahead, but you need to hurry. They seem to be heading for the next exit."
"Okay," Athrun snapped out, flooring the accelerator as he swerved into the next lane to overtake a couple of vehicles. "I got it. Thanks." He fumbled for the 'off' button on his phone.
"Wait, Chief," Meyrin called out.
"Yes?"
There was a pause, as if Meyrin was considering how to say it. "Stay away from the cops on the streets, okay?"
"What?"
"They're out looking for you."
"Because?"
A wince in her voice. "AC Ramius came by. She told us that the Commissioner's issued a warrant for your arrest."
Athrun was silent, and it was Cagalli who exclaimed, "Arrest? On what charges?"
"Breaking-and-entering," said Meyrin sheepishly, "My god, Chief, I don't know what to say. It can't be true. The rest of us don't believe it one bit. You've been set up, haven't you?"
Athrun said nothing but he was aware of Cagalli's stunned gaze on him. His mind was already racing. No one else in the team knew that he had broken into Kira Hibiki's apartment. In fact, it was an 'abandoned' house - no one had been living in it for a while – and all evidence and trace had already been cleaned out. There was nothing important left in there, so there was no reason for someone to report the break-in.
Unless he had left out something.
Or someone wasn't happy that he was snooping around.
He avoided Meyrin's question and instead, asked, "Anything else?"
There was a surprised pause on the other end of the line. "Uh… no, I suppose not, Chief. But-"
"Okay," Athrun said, "I've gotta go, Meyrin. You won't be able to contact me. Don't worry, I'll call when the time's right." He snapped the cell off without waiting for a reply. And he was just in time, for it was then that they saw the deep-blue sedan making its turn into an exit and leaving the highway behind. Athrun bullied his way between a lorry and a van, cutting through the traffic, and made the same turn. He realized that the road they had taken was leading them towards a suburban area on the outskirts of the city. There were fewer vehicles here and the deep-blue sedan had taken advantage of that and accelerated out of sight.
Athrun pushed the pale-green sedan to its limit and raced down the winding lane.
On both sides of the road were green forest and dark woods which eventually thinned out thirty yards from the highway, replaced by rows of rundown apartments and shops. Still, there was no sign of the deep-blue sedan, only an occasional vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
"Do you have your phone with you?" Athrun asked, all the while keeping the accelerator pressed tight to the floor and the car traversing at seventy miles per hour. Cagalli gave him a look of confusion but she dug her cell out of her back jeans pocket and handed it over. Lifting his right hand off the wheel, Athrun snagged the mobile device, wound down his window, and lobbed both her cell and his out of the car.
Cagalli stared wide-eyed as the devices sailed out of the window. "What did you do that for?"
"They can track us through our cells," Athrun said. "We'll get new ones later."
Still a little stunned, Cagalli just settled back into her seat for the wild ride. Forty yards down the road, Athrun jammed the car to an abrupt halt. They were at an intersection, and he slammed both fists into the steering wheel. Damn, which way? On the right, there was more forest and vegetation, and a narrow, cracked asphalt road that cut through the trees and bushes. To the left was a row of dinghy-looking bars and pubs, all shut up because business was usually at night. Straight ahead, a row of single-storey houses was interspersed with grocery stores, pawnshops and stores selling all sorts of second-hand goods.
Which way?
Athrun peered at the road surface, hoping there would be something, anything, that would give them away. But, no, there was nothing. Nothing at all.
Which way?
"I know this place," Cagalli said suddenly, sitting upright in her seat. She glanced over at Athrun. There was a sharp glint in her eyes and excitement in her voice when she said, "Remember the file you asked me to look through earlier this morning? The one about DEX enterprises?"
"Yeah."
"Meyrin had a list of warehouses leased under DEX enterprises. I remember one of them's around here, right in this neighbourhood. Do you think…?" She left the sentence to hang.
"Where is it?" Athrun asked quickly.
"It's," she paused and squinted out of the windshield. Looking right, at the thick forest; then left, at the pubs; then forward, at the neighbourhood. Trying to recall. Then she pointed straight ahead, "Over there."
Athrun shoved the gear into drive, and they tore down the street. For miles, all they saw were the same old shops with their dust-covered windows and their faded signboards, as well as rundown apartments fronted by cracked and scuffed sidewalks. There were people out and about, and a stray phone booth here and there. But still, there was no sign of the deep-blue sedan.
Up ahead, over the low roofs of some grocery stores, a tall iron fence, with its barbed wire top, stood visible.
"Over there," Cagalli repeated, pointing at the fence.
The van bumped hard onto the sidewalk.
Kira shoved the gearshift into 'park' and scrambled out of it.
The ride he had found was an old, dented delivery van outside a grocery store. "Drop me off here," he had said to Auel, who jammed their deep-blue sedan to an abrupt halt right beside the van. Kira had climbed out of the car and slid directly into the van in one smooth motion, without anyone noticing. The engine was idling, the key still in the ignition. From the rear-view mirror, Kira could see the delivery man busy manhandling a trolley laden with cardboard boxes over the curb and heading for the store.
Perfect.
Kira's original plan had been to steal a car, but that meant that he had to hotwire it and that took some time. He didn't have much, considering that Athrun Zala was hot on their heels. It had been a narrow escape. He hadn't expected to come face to face with the detective, or the blonde-haired woman. Neither had he anticipated the wracking headache that had assaulted him when he found himself directing the gun at her. It had taken every ounce of his strength to grab the briefcase, turn and run. But even then, just as they were inches away from their escape vehicle, he had spotted Sting flicking off the safety of his gun and aiming for the blonde. He was just in time to shove the gun off target and bundle Sting into the car.
A close shave.
But, thank god, they had lost Athrun Zala and woman back on the highway.
The team had been puzzled when they saw him hopping into the van. Before he could close the door, Stellar had grabbed the handle, preventing it from shutting. "Where're you going?" She wheezed, wide-eyed. The silver briefcase sat nestled safely in her lap.
"Take the serum back to Rau," Kira nodded towards it. "I'll get rid of Lacus Clyne," he lied.
Stellar nodded and released her hold on the door. "Be careful."
"You too. I'll join you as soon as I'm done."
He had waited until the deep-blue sedan sped out of view, then K-turned the stolen van and hurried towards the warehouse. On the way, he had kept a close eye out for any police cruisers, or any sign of Athrun Zala and the blonde woman. But all appeared safe.
He raced the van past the iron fence bordering the industrial site, zipped through small alleyways between the warehouses until he had reached their hideout. There, he jammed the van to a stop, one tire on the sidewalk, and scanned his surroundings. No sign of the police. Kira checked his watch. He had given himself ten minutes to get in and out, together with Lacus Clyne, and he had used up four minutes already.
Time was running out.
This was his one and only chance to keep her safe, and he wasn't going to lose it.
Author's note: There! So what do you think? Will Athrun and Cagalli catch up to Kira? Where will Kira bring Lacus? Oh, I'm excited. I'm gonna start work on the next chapter right away. Do review, review, review and let me know what you think!