Grab your six-gun from your back
Throttle the ignition
Would I die for you?
Well here's your answer in spades
-Lyrics to "Hang 'Em High' performed by My Chemical Romance
Crimson Bonds Part 84
The heavy, steel door creaked as it was pulled open to reveal five armed Hunters. The tall man that stepped forward kept his rifle close to his chest to turn and aim it at a breath's notice as he ordered coldly, "Get up. You're coming with us."
Anna swallowed roughly. Turning herself onto her side and pushing herself up from the cot beneath her, she adjusted the hem of the lavender maternity sundress she was wearing. Slowly walking toward her escorts, her cobalt-and-gold eyes narrowed for a stilled heartbeat before she lunged at the head guard in a blur of herself.
Crying out at the sudden attack, the tall brute's voice was cut off by the vice grip that tightened around his neck. As he was tossed aside for several feet in one powerful throw, the closest two livings descended upon the Vampire, only to be punched and kicked back until the panicked young woman at the back of the bunch took hold of her remote that had been secured in her pocket.
Instantly falling to her knees, Anna howled in pain and grabbed the collar around her neck as she propped her upper half up with a free hand that hit the floor. Panting when the pain began to subside, her winded snicker filled the air while the guards got their bearings and got to their feet with stunned faces.
"Ye boys be sure te remember a pregnant Vampire got the best of ye," she smirked with a glint of her Irish accent.
Growling deeply, the red-faced young man in charge stormed at her and roughly pulled her up with a rough hold under her arm in one strong tug. "Move it," he gritted through his teeth, pressing the muzzle of his gun into her lower back in a challenge for her to make another bold move.
A fighter to the end, Anna content to have gotten a few last blows in. Brushing her hands on the skirt of her dress, she rolled her shoulders back and she kept her head high. Silently, she followed the two Hunters that set to guide the way out to the deeper recesses of the laboratory...
...an whatever it was that was waiting for her.
* * * * * *
At that very moment.... More than one hundred miles away...
"Ok, Companions, listen up," Catherine announced atop the 'stage' of crates at the back of the wide garage that had been turned into a temporary launching pad for those Others bonded to Vampires. Checking her watch, she stated, "It's now 4:29 Northern Territory Australia time, so we don't have long to sunrise, which is when we're to be out of here before we draw attention to the attack."
The crowd of two hundred immortals sporting their gold arm bands ended their quiet conversations to face the redhead.
Gesturing to the closest jeep at her side that had been turned into a tank, Khushrenada began, "There are going to be two of you to each vehicle. One will drive the other will man the gun mounted at the top." Wide eyes took in the sleek, massive weapons with trepidation which had their mentor reassuring, "Don't worry. Big as they are, they're light and easy to operate. You're literally just pointing and firing by a handgrip like this."
The weapons expert stepped aside so that Hilary could join her. Raising a an example of the trigger to their latest creation that they had been secretly working on together for the last few months, the lovely scientist demonstrated grasping it. Under her touch, the metal bent. "Squeeze to shoot release to stop." Opening her hand, the flexible steel returned to its natural shape and size.
Heads nodded and relieved voices muttered throughout the audience.
"Your cannons will then release a fixated beam of liquid sheet glass which will both freeze and slice through the metal ring of a ceiling covering the base we'll be seizing," Twain informed.
Pointing to the life-sized poster behind her that revealed the overhead satellite shot of the open plains of the Outback, Catherine continued, "Drivers, your jeeps have all been programmed to take you to your specific, unique coordinates that will also inform you where you are to take your shots. Those coordinates came from Broderick, an insider who will be joining us shortly to lead the way."
The redhead warned, "Be mindful that there have been additional modifications that will allow you to speed through the terrain at the same lightning speed as our Chosens, so ease up on your approach so that we get this next part right on the first try. You'll follow those GPS directions to make a perfect circle at exactly the right space for those beams to hit. From there, you'll be continuing around at the same space apart until the entire roof is free of its supports."
More heads bobbed in understanding of the strategy being laid out to them. Raising his hand, TJ smirked, "So we're basically like can openers cutting off the lid?"
Smiling, Catherine nodded, "Exactly." Our Vampires will be chasing after so that the Telepaths can lift the ceiling from its foundation while the other gifted provide a multitude of ways for the other agents to descend into the facility. They'll be spreading out to disarm and apprehend everyone they encounter while we wait for everyone to clear out."
Gently tapping her gold armband, she said, "Fortunately for us, these are not trackers, so we can stay behind to cover our tracks. Once the ceiling is replaced, there is a switch on the back of each cannon that will turn the gun into a laser. Rounding the base the same way we opened it, we'll be sealing it by melting and welding it closed. The base will be completely concealed once more and no one will be any the wiser that it even existed."
Smiles spread throughout the crowd as their anticipation grew.
"We only get one shot at this, everyone," Khushrenada frowned. "And we all know what's on the line here, so we can't afford any mistakes. This is a rare opportunity for us to make an impact in one of our Vampires' most important missions, so let's make them all proud." Snickers and shouted cheers rose at that.
Hillary scanned the lot and inquired, "Are there any questions?"
At the center of the pack, Trent raised his hand. When he was silently urged to speak by the coordinators, he asked, "Why the hell are we just standing around? Let's get into our pairs and get ready to kick some ass out there." Flanking him, Alex, Mueller and Sylvia grinned slyly. More cheers and applause sounded from the Companions.
Eyeing each other from the corners of their eyes, the weapon designers' mouths curled up in lopsided, mischievous smirks.
* * * * * *
"You'll be able to see and hear everything through the recorder that I'm wearing," Treize told Nancy McAdams as he revealed the nearly invisible chip that was clasped to his skintight gray shirt just below his left shoulder. "There will be no tricks or manipulations to anything that's happening so you can witness for yourself what we encounter."
Looking to her digital tablet, the Senator saw herself through the camera lens and nodded firmly in her satisfaction that there was no tampering involved. "But you won't be able to be everywhere at all times to be able to show me all that goes on," she huffed.
A flash of disgust from the Councilman made her gulp. Taking a deep breath, she shrugged, "I suppose under the timing circumstances of this so-called emergency, this will have to be enough."
The last thing that she wanted was to lose her chance at observing a Preventer mission... especially one of such a grand scale as this. Raising a finger, she cautioned, "This is a rare case where livings are involved. So help me if your agents bring on any harm to even one of them, I won't wait until Monday to expose your organization."
Khushrenada remained calm enough to reassure her, "The goal is to not have any casualties. We have the early morning working in our favor that most of the people inside of that base should be asleep when we reach it. Any counter fire back and forth will not be made with the intent to harm on our end. What takes place once we're actually inside will play out how it plays out. Now, I really must go."
Not waiting for a reaction from McAdams, he turned away and headed down the hall to find Heero and Wufei.
That left the Senator alone in the room with her prodigal daughter. And an awkward silence for a long moment before Angela swallowed roughly and took a few steps close to her mother. "We're going to be leaving with Uncle Trowa for Sally's clinic to look after the children as soon as he's back."
Well aware of the members of the Barton-Yuy Clan, Nancy snorted bitterly, "Uncle Trowa? You're already considering yourself as part of their family?"
"Yes, I am," the lawyer snapped back, her blue eyes narrowing. "And I am sorry that you have a hard time accepting that, but it's not going to change." Taken aback by her child's matter-of-fact sentiment, the politician physically reeled just an another presence entered the room.
Clearing his throat uncomfortably, none other than the so-named Original eyed the mother and daughter wearily. "Ready to go?" he asked his niece.
Angela smiled to him, "Yea. We're ready."
Unhappy as she was over her circumstances, Nancy held her tongue still to gain her ground against the Vampires and so allowed Trowa to gently rest a hand on her shoulder when the world faded away in brilliant light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the living room, the two Vampires at the center of the attack were making their last preparations before leaving for Australia.
Locking his Buster Riffle to his right arm, the Japanese Original's Gundanium wings glistened against his back that they hugged in their folded state. In his other hand, he carried Duo's laser scythe in the hopes of returning it to his Other soon. A few feet behind him, his brother was staring through the large bay window to watch the ocean roll in when Broderick entered the room.
"Aren't you going to arm yourself?" Broderick asked his would be father-in-law, who was not carrying a single weapon to his person.
Chang pulled back from his thoughts and the window to meet the Companion's ice blue eyes an smirked, "No need with my scales and all of the powers at my disposal."
Snickering, Dawson grinned sheepishly, "Ah. Right." A bit more at ease, he really took in the Chinese warrior.
Though he had stopped aging at eighteen, he was the father of children who had surpassed his physical years- namely Isabel, Charles at twenty and Carol and John at nineteen. And now he had a future son-in-law in Broderick at the age of twenty-eight that his oldest daughter would mature into until she stopped growing...
... So, it was going to be an adjustment for the former Hunter to get used to calling the scaly Infected anything but his name, but he decided that there was no better time to start than the present. Clearing his throat, he muttered, "Dad..."
His attention drawn from the window once more, Wufei blinked widely at him and gave a small grin. "Yes, son?"
Warmed by the endearment, Dawson paused to appreciate how good it felt to have a father figure in his life to address him in such a way again.
Shaking his head to clear it, he stammered, "W-well, I just wanted to let you know, for what it's worth... Mom gave Septum nothing but trouble from the moment he first laid eyes on her. She bucked him every step of the way and caused him endless frustration by not bending at his every whim even with every odd stacked against her. She got through to Solo and kept Duo together for as long as she could."
Heero lowered his arms to his sides as he slowly faced the Hunter. Out in the hallway, Charles and John peered their heads in after having caught their brother-in-law's citation of how their mother had held up while in Septum's captivity.
"I never met another creature as brave or as strong as her," Broderick muttered, his voice breaking a bit at the emotions that were catching up with him. Clearing his throat, he stated, "You need to know that she never lost that fight in her."
Unable to help his surge of pride, Yuy smiled, "That's my girl."
Nodding, Wufei smirked, "Yea. That's Anna, alright." With a sigh, he bowed his head to the Companion and said quietly, "Thank you, Broderick. That actually comes as a comfort. She always was one to go down swinging." And as a former soldier, there was no greater sense of peace that he could have than in that.
Treize appeared at that moment with his family close behind as he focused on his dear friends. "Everyone is ready when you are."
Exchanging a glance to each other, Yuy and Chang righted themselves. At the nod he received, the Original spoke for both of them as he looked back on their Commander to reply, "Let's go."
* * * * * *
"Leave us," Septum commanded as soon as Anna was inside the operating room. Splitting away from the Vampire, her escorts took their quick and silent leave so that she was left with only the Boss, Doctor Berg and Doctor Adodera when the door was closed behind them.
Remote in one hand and a pistol in the other, Millers aimed it at the Infected's abdomen and stepped aside to reveal the long board flanked by clamps and restraints behind him. "On the table," he snapped. "Make any sudden move and I'll end it for you as well as those babies. I have nothing to lose in this, so I suggest that you be a good little girl and do as you're told."
Staring at the table, the Siren shuddered inside but refused to let her fear show as she slowly complied and walked towards it.
Only pausing a moment when she reached the edge, Chang let out a deep breath and slid onto the bench to lie back flat against it. The moment she was down, Berg was at her ankles to strap them down by the steel cuffs that they slipped into while Septum restrained her wrists at her sides with similar shackles.
All the while, Anna kept herself calm as she watched the ceiling and thought only about the kicking and squirming from her niece and nephews. Only losing herself to good thoughts, she wondered what they might look like and what personalities they might grow to have. Then she imagined her own kids and her fondest of memories with them.
Propping himself over her head, Septum leaned in so that their noses were almost touching as he smirked smugly, "You have been nothing but a thorn in my side from the moment we met."
He pressed the barrel of his gun into the side of her swollen belly to remind her of the power that he wielded over her. "Now I get the last laugh. I'll be the one reveling in your screams. I'm going to be the last face you see in your existence. I'm the one who finally gets the best of you."
Only partly listening, the Irish Vampire put herself in another place and time... her most dear of memories as it was the day her world as she knew it had changed forever.
* * * * * *
"Stay as close to me as you boys can," Wufei urged Charles and John as they crouched down to ready themselves for their run across the Outback. "If we get separated, don't be heroes out there. Just take who you can with as little resistance as possible." The younglings nodded firmly in the corner of his eye, their expressions fixed with determination in what was about to come.
At the scaly Infected's other side, Trowa was in his own ready stance to spring forth in a sprint at any second while Heero opened the wings at his back and took to hovering a few yards above his family.
Broderick gripped the wheel of his jeep as the shed door opened to him. He heard the roar of motors revving at his back. Behind those vehicles, he knew there to be an army of Vampires ready to join the charge close behind.
His piercing blue eyes narrowing onto the thick night, there was no need for headlights thanks to his enhanced vision. He knew exactly where he was and he knew how to get to his target. Slamming his foot against the accelerator, the race for Septum's lair was initiated.
* * * * * *
Something was wrong. Duo could feel it. He didn't know what it was or why he was sensing it, but he knew that something terrible was happening. Teeth gnashing, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his fingernails dug into his skin to trickle droplets of his blood onto the floor.
Celeste and Solo noted the closing of their brother's violet-and-silver eyes and climbed to their feet. "Duo?" the Latin Companion called softly, her face marred with a deep frown of worry when the braided Hybrid's entire body began to tremble from where he sat at the edge of his cot. "Can you hear me?" she tried again, a bit louder in trying to get through to him.
Tight as a knot, her lover's frightened breathed, "Get away from the glass, Celeste." Even as he spoke, Solo unconsciously took a few steps back in his own. Gulping, the brunette immortal followed suit and pressed her back against the furthest wall from Maxwell.
Fangs growing in, Duo welcomed the rage and hatred that seeped into every pour of his being as his tremors grew.
* * * * * *
"Millers, she needs something to numb the pain," Gloria insisted, her eyes welling up as her right hand shook in its reach for the scalpel from her medical tray. "The shock from the incision will kill her."
Craning his head back to set a fiery glare on her, Septum shouted, "She feels all of it! If you go and delay this any longer, you die first and I'll have Berg attempt to remove those babies! Now open her up!"
Anna lifted her head as far as she could to meet the terrified young woman's gaze and cried, "It's okay, Gloria! Just do as he says! I don't want you getting hurt in this, too! If I have to, I'll do it myself!"
With a whimper, the lovely doctor adjusted her glasses with her trembling free hand. Swallowing down a sob as tears ran down her face, she nodded, "O-okay..."
Roughly wiping her vision dry, she sniffled and neared her patient's side. Lifting the hem of her dress to expose her abdomen, she found the fine line of scar tissue that had healed over the course of years and multiple cesarean sections just below the permanent freckles left behind by fertility shots that had been confided in her.
* * * * * *
"There it is!" Broderick hollered at the sight of the open sand that concealed the base. "Get to cutting!" Guided by their GPS devices, his fellow Companions sped out to fan around the massive ring of a ceiling just as they had been instructed.
Once every last jeep was in place, they could begin slicing through the barrier so that the cut went over evenly for the easiest removal. Those immortals responsible for shooting their target were standing up and aiming their cannons.
* * * * * *
Forcing her surgical hand still, Adodera muttered a crackled, heartfelt, "I'm so sorry, Anna."
Already lying flat on the table and gone from the world around her, the Infected was absorbed in her favorite memory. There was no laboratory. Septum's face looking over her was completely forgotten.
She could feel the water of the lake she had been swimming in dripping off her nude body as she walked along the wet sand and fine rocks of the bank where she had laid her clothes. Partially kneeling down to gather up the kimono, she froze at the sensation of a sharp sword pressing into the small of her back.
"Bù dòng."
That voice sent shivers down her spine even after so many years. Though the command was in Chinese, she had been versed in it enough to know its message. 'Do. Not. Move.'
Drinking in reliving of the first time she ever looked upon her Other's stunned face when she slowly peered over her shoulder, a happy tear rolled out the corner of Anna's eye. Smiling wistfully, she breathed, "Good night, my love."
A pain like none she had ever felt before pierced her belly at the entrance of the scalpel blade into her flesh. Her widening eyes closing shut tight, she reeled back with a shrill scream that resonated through the room and quaked the entire base before the light in her flickered out as a baby's shrill cry replaced her voice.
Several corridors away in the holding room, Duo's eyes snapped open to reveal the deadly glow of his violet-and-silver irises.
TBC...
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