Chapter 14

No one would visit her for another hour at the least; the young man had told her that. Relena had roughly an hour to formulate a plan to get out. Of course you can’t really get out, she told herself, pacing her cell impatiently. It’s a matter of taking over the ship.

She wouldn’t kill, either. She wanted to know who her captors were, and knew it would be important to her brother’s government.

Standing in the corner, Relena turned to study her room. There was nothing in there she could use; she had been over this so many times she felt she had memorized the placement, to the square millimeter, of every object in her cell.

There was nothing for it but to go with her original plan.

Sighing, Relena sat down to wait.

To her slight surprise, the young man had told her true. After almost exactly an hour, there was a soft knocking and he entered again, this time carrying no folders.

Relena tensed slightly, but he didn’t notice. Instead, he took the same chair as before, looked up, and smiled.

She did not like that smile.

"Your answers have proved quite useful to our sources," he said happily. "We will now be able to carry out the next stage of our plan. You – "

He stopped abruptly, because Relena had stood up. She walked quickly across to him, and before he could figure out what was going on, her solid fist slammed into his head, and blackness overtook his senses.

The security guard outside the door viewed Jim Hanson as a young, nervous, shy man that kept entirely to himself; that was why he was not at all surprised to see Jim walking out of the Vice Foreign Minister’s cell room looking at the floor as he walked out. He let out a low groan, though, and the security guard decided to be friendly.

"Did she hurt you?" he asked, extremely doubtful the meek and feminine Queen of the World Nation would do such a thing.

Jim Hanson shook his head, but did hold up a hand to his forehead, still looking at the ground. The security guard nodded and said, "Well, boss is in the conference room for debriefing, of course. Wants to know exactly what she said about the options given."

Jim nodded and continued down the hall.

The two men Relena had noted earlier that day before looked up as the door opened, and a figure walked into the room.

The older one, still in his lab coat, stood up, crossed over, and locked the door. Then, he turned to address his comrade.

"Why, Miss Relena, I did think you would have attacked our friend Jim at his first visit, not the second. I admit you did surprise us."

Relena, wearing Jim Hanson’s clothes, barely held back a gasp. Instead, she took off the hood and baseball cap, letting her hair rain down her shoulders. She smiled and said sweetly, "I’m a patient woman, sir."

The older man nodded and said with a smile that made Relena’s insides churn, "I’m sure you are aiming to knock us unconscious, then take control of the ship?"

Relena did not answer.

He smiled again, and slowly, from his pocket drew a gun. "I am sorely afraid, madam, that I shall have to help you with your mission."

Relena was frozen, staring at the gun barrel as he raised it, aimed it at her, turned it slightly, and pulled the trigger.

She closed her eyes, but it was not her throat that let out a short-lived yelp. Blue eyes flying open, she whirled around to see the burly man in the flannel shirt staring in utter disbelief at the bullet hole in the left chest.

He was dead.

Very slowly, she turned to face the older man, and was not the least bit surprised to see him pointing the barrel at her.

"So sorry, Miss Relena, but I’m afraid that it ends here. Sorry that you will never see your precious Perfect Soldier again. I’m sure he won’t miss you for long. I’m going to kill him next."

Before she could even think about it, her hand swung up and connected solidly with the gun, knocking it out of his hands. The gun fired by mistake, but instead of hitting her, the bullet rammed into the man’s left leg. He collapsed on the ground, but he was not yelling.

In fact, on his face was a look of knowing and something Relena could not name. He grinned and said, "Continue with your plan, Miss Relena. I’m not going to die, but believe me, we’ll meet again."

With that, he faded into unconsciousness.

Relena stood stunned for a moment, then, fingers shaking slightly, she pulled an admission card from his right pocket, then turned and opened the door.

There were no guards, anywhere. Her mind numb, she strode briskly down the hall, going straight to the cockpit.

Five minutes later, she was standing in front of the unconscious bodies of the pilot and copilot, flipping switches and turning the ship toward L3, which was a vague but distinct outline in nearby space, close enough so that she’d get there in time for Heero’s rendezvous. She pushed the ship faster, hoping to high heaven that she would be there in time to help them out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Weather on the Colonies was controlled completely by manmade inventions, though sunlight was still only slightly modified, filtered through different ‘zones’. The weather operators tried to make the weather on the Colonies much like the weather on the Earth, but as most people put it, ‘No matter how they try, it’ll never be the same.’ For one thing, rain was always scheduled for people who wanted to avoid it. You always knew when it was going to rain or snow – no sleet or hail was allowed, because of damage to the Colony base, buildings, and other structures and materials. The temperature usually stayed comfortably between seventy and seventy-five degrees, warm enough for shorts and cool enough for pants.

Another thing that was simulated were thunderstorms. There was no possible way to create lightning without damaging something on the Colonies, and thunder was quiet, not the usual startling, booming crack, a simple low rumble. The artificial lights would darken, always at night because of the sunlight, and there would be thunder but no clouds. Rain was included, too.

During the short time Heero had visited Earth, it had surprised him how much he missed the unpredictable weather. Compared to the Earth, the Colonies’ weather was dull, everyday, and boring. Heero himself liked surprises; he enjoyed getting caught in a late-summer rain, and didn’t mind getting wet.

It was a good thing, too – there was a simulated thunderstorm that Saturday night. Heero crouched low, in the shadow of a small barn, listening to the soft rumble of thunder and hearing, rather than feeling, the pitter-patter of rain all around. A slightly tattered awning, hanging low over the ground, protected him from the worst of the drops, but he didn’t mind the occasional raindrops that splashed onto his face and dampened his hair.

For all the solitude the area was supposed to have, Heero found it a lot louder than he thought it would be. Behind him across a fence, a herd of spotted cows mooed in annoyance at the sudden rain, the gate to their warm barn locked and barricaded.

The pilots had arrived at the intersection in the early afternoon, very quietly and discreetly, to set up the equipment, and Heero had been in the same spot for over three hours. However, thanks to his training he didn’t mind at all.

One of the many qualities a soldier must have is patience, Heero remembered Doctor J one early morning, ready to begin training. Today, we will begin that part in your training. Patience is much more than a virtue; it can determine whether you win or lose on the battlefield.

That was all it ever was, Heero thought grimly. Whether you win or lose. Never if you live or die. Win or lose.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo was up in the barnyard loft, warm and dry, watching out the scratched window, where he had a clear view of the intersection, and of Heero.

His ‘buddy’ was right beneath him, underneath that awning, ready and waiting. Sighing quietly, Duo checked his digital watch. The glowing neon green numbers read 5:42. Roughly twenty minutes.

The three horses down in the stalls below him, thin yet strong, neighed lazily, sleepy from the warmth inside the dimly-lit barn. The two pigs across the barn were sleeping, halfway buried in the slops they were fed each day. Duo had entered the barn just after the local farmer had completed his nightly rounds; Duo found it ironic and slightly funny – he found almost everything slightly funny – that on something as highly technological as a Colony, commercial agriculture still existed.

There was a very quiet beeping on the laptop positioned next to him; slightly startled, Duo turned his head to glance at the screen. A message from Heero flashed across the screen, in the font Duo’s laptop always associated with Heero.

Subjects have arrived. Shall we enter battlefield?

Grinning, Duo quietly typed his reply.

Battlefield is clear. Inquire to Fluffy.

‘Fluffy’ was the code name Duo had insisted upon for Wufei. Wufei had nearly killed him after the sentence escaped his mouth, but Heero didn’t mind, and Wufei was left with no choice. He was probably still sulking nearby, wherever he had decided to wait.

Heero’s reply flashed on the screen, and Duo focused his attention once again on the task at hand.

Inquiring to Fluffy. Now opening line.

Duo waited as Heero opened the communication line, letting Duo see any communication exchanged between Heero and Wufei, and vice versa. However, the line would not be open to other lines, thanks to Heero’s unmatched computer skills.

Suddenly, a new message appeared on the screen, in Wufei’s programmed font.

WHAT DO YOU WANT, BB?

Duo’s fingers flew over the keys, but before he could send the message, Heero replied,

Not funny, Fluffy. Serious business at hand.

It wasn’t a joke.

Could have fooled me.

Shall we enter battlefield?

So technical, Suicide Boy. So technical.

At least he can be serious.

I’m going to ignore that.

Can we please get back to the task at hand?

I’m ready, but BB here isn’t.

Who says so?

Oh please. I’m ready. Let’s go. Make sure you have your

consoles.

Check.

Yes, sir. Salute!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero closed his laptop, sliding it under his denim jacket as he shook his head, holding back a smile at Duo’s cheerfulness. Even if he had never said so, Duo was one of the very few things that kept him sane on the battlefield.

It was dark outside, nearly pitch black; the artificial Colony lights were off, and this side of the Colony was facing away from the sun. No house lights shone nearby; the small farm was totally dark, and for once the animals were silent.

Heero crept out of his cover, his feet making absolutely no sound on the grass. Instantly, as if it were a complete change of person, he slipped into what the Doctors called battlemode. All personal worries, thoughts, or ideas flew totally out of his mind; he was no longer a human. He was now a robot, the Perfect Soldier Doctor J had worked so hard to create.

The cover of darkness was his greatest asset at the moment; he was invisible, like a cat slinking around the corner of a dark street. Heero moved quickly but silently, stealthily slipping his way between the barn and farmhouse and heading straight toward the intersection, all the while watching his back and keeping on hand on the gun at his waist.

The microphone near his ear hissed quietly with static, then Duo’s voice said calmly, "Two men approaching opposite you, no others."

Wufei, on the same line, added, "Moving slowly, armed with two guns."

There was silence, then Duo said, "Why aren’t there any more?"

Heero was silent, thinking hard after Duo’s question. On a sudden idea, he asked into his microphone, "What kind of guns?"

There was another silence, until Wufei said, "One is a pistol, another a long-range rifle. I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like a .22."

"What? Why?" Duo’s voice was full of puzzlement.

"What’s in the guns?" Heero inquired, his dark blue eyes studying his surroundings with expert vigilance. His feet came in contact with dirt; he had reached the intersection.

It was still pitch black; he watched the terrain carefully, searching for any sign of movement. Wufei didn’t answer, but over the radio came the repetitive click of a keyboard, and Heero knew he was trying to find out. Meanwhile, Heero turned slowly around.

He whipped out his gun and aimed it at the lone figure, jogging steadily toward the intersection. Heero muttered under his breath, "Duo, watch my back. I’ve got a bogie coming in northwest."

Duo replied quickly, "I see it. Heero, the two men are still about a hundred feet away, but it could be a trap. Then again, it might not be a trap."

Wufei broke in, "Regular firearm bullets, Heero. About the bogie…mmm…can’t tell. A single pistol, that’s it…and – " Here there was the click of the keyboard again. " – only one bullet left."

Heero thought hard. "And the other two? Fully loaded?"

"Yeah."

"I don’t think it’s a decoy," Heero said. "But it doesn’t seem like one of the enemies…can you guys get a picture?"

"Nope," Duo replied. "Way too dark."

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past Heero’s head and embedded itself in the barn wall. Heero ducked instinctively, then ran for cover, bullets raining all around him. Through some stroke of incredible luck, he wasn’t hit.

He dodged inside the small hollow, under the awning, and crouched low. His laptop was still there; faster than ever, he typed a message quickly.

Under attack, need first aid kit now. Urgent.

Then he raised his pistol over the rim of the hole, took aim, and fired.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Duo didn’t see the message that popped up on his computer screen. At the first sound of gunshot, he had leaped from the hayloft, scaring the heck out of a nearby mare. However, ignoring the horse, he dashed outside the door and paused for a nanosecond to listen. The bullets were ramming into the opposite wall.

Yet even as he rounded the barn and pulled out his pistol, the rain of bullets stopped. Duo halted and peered around the corner of the barn to see Heero standing out of the hollow, in a shooting stance, lowering his pistol. A soft thump from somewhere in the darkness signified that Heero had taken down his target.

Just as Duo approached Heero, Wufei came around the other side, also aiming his pistol. Duo held up a cautionary hand and murmured to Heero, "Did you shoot all of them?"

Heero was quiet for a moment until he said, "There were three. Who was the other?"

Wufei shrugged. "Unidentified."

Duo bristled immediately at the word, and felt his heart sink. "So it could’ve been an innocent citizen out for a stroll?"

"With a pistol?" Heero retorted.

The violet-eyed pilot shrugged. "You never know."

"Well, did you kill all of them?" Wufei said, still speaking softly.

Heero shook his head. "I’m not sure. It’s way too dark."

Duo pulled up his pistol again and began creeping forward. "There’s only one way to find out."

The three pilots crept forward together, holding their firearms ready. But nothing prepared them for the sight that lay at their feet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Quatre and Trowa went instantly to the white office building, hidden guns at their belts. The parking lot was empty; the first sign of abandonment.

"You know," Quatre murmured as they strode up to the door. "We’re walking into the enemy’s lair."

Trowa just nodded, silent. Quatre gave an inward sigh. Trowa was unnaturally silent. Being the optimistic person he was, Quatre took that as a good sign. They rapped smartly on the door, and a few seconds later, to both their surprise, it opened.

A tall, shapely woman in a skin-tight, too-short-for-comfort dress stood with a stack of papers in her hands, eyeing them with bright blue eyes framed with long, mascara-thick lashes. She said in a cool voice, "Yes?"

Quatre gave her a smile. "Hello, ma’am, we’re volunteers from the police station. We’re here to just do a quick survey about this building. Would you be willing to answer a few questions?"

There was a moment of silence, and then suddenly the woman said under her voice, "I know who you really are. You may think that I can be fooled by your questions, but I know a lot more than you think I do." She sneered, and continued with a cold voice, "Don’t come around here again, if you know what’s good for you…Quatre."