[I can't go on living this way]
--- Lyrics to 'Last Resort' performed by Pappa Roach
A Silver Lining Part 28
Something wasn't right.
The unsettling feeling came with a chill running up his spine. Anna should have announced that she was in place by now. Placing the small microphone on his shoulder towards his lips, Trowa spoke quietly, "Anna, are you in place yet?"
Only silence and the slight hint of static came over the com. His eyes widening in panic, the tall pilot tried again, the concern evident in his voice, "Anna?" The static on the other line was much more profound this time. Sweat beading on his brow, Trowa's emerald eyes slowly closed as he swallowed hard. There were a few quiet mutters of concern amongst the remainder of his escort team.
After another pause, Wufei inquired, "You still with us, Trowa?"
Trowa's head snapped up and he replied quietly, "Yea. I'm all right." His green eyes narrowed while his fists tightened around his pistol. His voice steady once more, he focused on the task at hand and stated, "Let's get this over with and get the hell out of here."
"Change in plans," Zechs's voice took over in firm, calm command. "Noin, Duo, get Angie into the basement of her residence until we make certain the area is clear. I don't want to risk having someone spotting you through the windows from out here. If you try to make a run for the cars with her before we know we have everyone, we can't cover you with this terrain. Keep her guarded there until we get back to you."
At that, Wufei announced, "I have the area in front of the apartment clear for now. Best make a run for it before that changes. Once you're inside, I am going to move towards the location where Anna was heading to see if I can't find her. It's just a few yards off from where I am now."
Back at the cars, Noin nodded and replied, "Affirmative." Looking to the braided pilot beside her, she placed a hand on his shoulder. Despite their worry over their friend's disappearance, they had to carry out this mission. With a reassuring smile, she asked quietly, "Ready?"
Swallowing hard, Duo nodded firmly, "Yea."
With that, they sprinted past the cars and towards the large apartment's front door. The first to reach the residence, Noin was not surprised to find the door locked when she tried to use the doorknob first. Knocking loudly on the door, she called urgently, "Angie, this is Agent Fire. We need to get inside."
The sound of running footsteps approached on the other side and the two locks were quickly undone for the door to be pulled open. Angie's ashen, sweat-beaded face appeared to meet the Preventers' gazes as she sighed deeply, "Oh, thank God you're here."
Suddenly, the night was alive with the sound of shots ringing out just to the side of the house from the wooded surroundings-just out of Wufei's position. His violet eyes widening, the braided pilot shouted, "Get down!"
Quickly, Duo spun to throw himself over the two young women, forcing them into the house where they fell roughly to the floor. Just above his head, three bullets narrowly missed the braided pilot to embed themselves in the far wall behind them as he fell forward and inside.
With a deep growl, the American turned onto his back to kick out with his right foot, slamming the door closed after them. Scrambling onto her feet, Angie shrieked with wide, terror-filled eyes, "They're here!? They're coming to kill me!?"
Noin rose to take hold of the hysterical Preventer's shoulders. Giving her a rough shake, the short-haired pilot asked urgently, "Angie, where is your basement door? We have to get downstairs now."
"We have to crawl there," Duo was quick to add. "Whoever is out there will be able to see us in the windows."
The jolt from the shake of her shoulder was enough to help the frightened woman focus a bit and she nodded, "This way." She dropped to her hands and knees to lead the other agents following in suit across the living room towards the door at the far corner. With the door closed behind them, Noin turned her com back on to announce, "We're in the basement. I am going to cut out connection for now until one come back to get us." Three affirmatives responded. Once the connection was cut, the short-haired Preventer moved to her braided partner still catching his breath from his perch on the bottom steps. "Nice save back there," she smiled sincerely.
Sighing deeply, Duo grinned sheepishly, "Just don't ask me where that came from. Old instincts die hard, I guess." Noin's smile grew a bit as she moved to squeeze the other pilot's shoulder. At the sight of a stunned Angie sitting atop a few boxes and staring forward. Taking a deep breath, she moved towards her in attempt to keep from having the young woman go into shock.
Back outside, Wufei cursed deeply to himself as he ran in the direction where the first shots had rung out. When he reached the side of the house, the Chinese pilots' pistol was already trained before his outstretched arms. His dark eyes narrowed, he removed his right hand from the gun to lower his night vision glasses to gaze over his surroundings with ease.
At the sight of a brush hedge moving a couple feet to his left, Wufei turned towards it in a sharp snap, firing two rounds. Something fell roughly to the ground behind the long stretch of shrubs, a deep groan following it on its way down. With light, quick steps that made little sound, the Chinese pilot ran towards the brush, keeping his weapon aimed where the body fell.
Gritting his teeth, Wufei held his gun to the back of the dark clad man lying on his stomach after kicking his weapon away from reach. Through his night vision glasses, he could see a dark puddle of blood growing from beneath the bulled holes in the fallen assailant's chest cavity. "How many of there are you," he growled deeply, moving one hand to remove some of the equipment at the man's belt. His only answer was a deep chuckle that burbled with the blood that must have been filling the lungs. "I asked you how many," the Chinese hissed as he snapped his revolver's spring lock to snap the next pulled into place. Just then, he noticed slight movement from the assassin's body, where his right arm was crushed beneath him.
His dark eyes widening in realization, Wufei removed his glasses as he quickly ran ahead, narrowly escaping the large explosion from the grenade that that had been intended to take the two of them out in the assassin's last resort.
Within the flash of blinding light caused by the explosion, Wufei spotted two heads that until that moment had been hidden from him. While that flash would have near blinded him had he kept his glasses on, it revealed the location of another assailant that was now wide-eyes and caught off guard.
Running towards the stunned man that was now moving to quickly aim his weapon, the Chinese pilot fired four times at them. Two first two bullets pierced assassin in the head, while the remaining two pummeled his chest. The tall man fell dead before he could get a shot off.
His breath pulling in heavy pants and replacing his night vision glasses, Wufei searched the body. Finding their two-way transmitter, he looked to the number of channels and compared it to the transmitter to the first man he had killed. Both two-ways were opened up to accept nine possible communication links.
Hastily reaching for the small microphone on his shoulder, the Chinese pilot informed quietly, "We're dealing with ten of them total. I just took out two."
"Copy that," Trowa replied flatly. "Status?"
With a deep sigh as he replaced his clip of bullets, Wufei answered, "Clear. I am going to back track to finally try and reach where Anna should have positioned..." His voice trailed of when he turned to head back as he advised. Slowly, he approached a form that seemed out of place with the wooded surroundings, even through his aided vision.
In finding the prone, half-naked body that was nearly covered up by the forest brushes, the Chinese Preventer frowned deeply, his eyes scanning the grotesquely sliced neck. Carefully, he removed the long strands of hair to revel the wide, still eyes of the victim. Bringing the microphone Close to his mouth, Wufei spoke gravely, "I just found Agent Night."
With a deep sigh, Zechs lowered his head from where he found another body, also half naked and riddled with bullets where it had been tied tightly to one of the countless trees. "I located Agent Torrent," he proclaimed with a deep frown. His eyes narrowing, the tall Preventer suggested, "If we send our flares up at the same time, we'll be able to light the area for several yards, even if it's only for a few seconds."
Trowa reached for his flare gun while removing his glasses with his free hand nodding, "Good idea. Just give the count." Wufei gave his own affirmative that he was ready as well.
"On one," Zechs stated, his hand already on his flare gun's trigger as he aimed it upward. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One." Three flare soared up towards the tree tops, exploding before they could reach the highest branches and raining down the fire aftermath like rain.
In the glowing light, Trowa turned to the sound of branches snapping and leaves splashing together in a frantic attempt to escape. His green eyes narrowed, the tall pilot turned in the direction of the mad run, firing his weapon when the cover of the trees and bushes were not enough for the two dark-clad figures.
Shots were fired back, one bullet grazing Trowa's right shoulder with no effect in slowing him. Quickly climbing onto a low branch, the brunette Preventer sniped out the retreating forms below his perch and just a few feet ahead.
When the two bodies fell lifelessly, Trowa panted over his transmitter, "Two more down." Zechs gave an affirmative grunt just as the light faded. His lack of further response hinted that he was on his own trail of more assailants. The last of the flares' embers died out and darkness suffocated the area again.
In the pitch, several yards off, another firefight broke out form Zechs' station. For every shot that rang out from one direction, two replied from the other. Quickly replacing his night vision glasses, Trowa sprinted in the direction of the gunfire when something caught his leg, sending him to the ground at his loss of footing. Landing with a muted cry of pain, the tall pilot looked to his right, to what caught his foot. Two wide eyes met his. With a startled cry, Trowa crawled backwards on his hands and feet, pulling back from the bloodied face. Panting heavily, he looked to the broken form to find that one of its legs and arms missing. As he forced a deep breath, he tried to gather his wits. The shots finally ended in the distance and Zechs's voice advised, "I just took out three." "Good," Trowa croaked as he swallowed hard, his sense regained. Slowly climbing back to his feet, his eyes still gazing to the dismembered body. He frowned deeply, "Part of Agent Bolt's body is over here."
The other two Preventers cursed sharply over his transmitter. While the situation looked grim for the three agents when they seemingly vanished, there was a looming hope that they would be alright. For a moment, silence just hung in the air as the grave reality of what had become of their fallen comrades took hold.
Once again focusing the younger pilots, Zechs's voice steered them, "We still have three more to worry about. Let's just take care of them and get out of here."
Trowa finally turned away from the gruesome remains and spoke quietly, "Right." Gripping his revolver in tight fists, Trowa scanned his surroundings through his glasses. Desperately, he tried not to imagine what had come of Anna... tried not to think that she shared the fate as the three Preventers they had found broken and mutilated.
The still, eerie calm of the night was suddenly destroyed with a fiery explosion from back at the house. Zechs, Wufei and Trowa all turned in wide-eyed horror as a thick wave of fire washed up on the sidewalk towards the residence. "Fuck!" the Chinese pilot shouted. "They have odor-less gas all around the apartment!"
Forcing Noin's channel to open, Zechs yelled, "Noin, Duo, get out of there now! There's a wall of flame heading for the apartment!"
At the cry, both Duo and Noin shot to their feet. Alarmed at their stunned faces, Angie rose to her feet, frowning in concern, "What's wrong?" Upstairs, the sound of crashing glass filled the air. With a shriek, she secured the data card in her pants pocket.
"I just saw two of them jump in through the windows!" Trowa's voice yelled.
His violet eyes widening, Duo panted heavily while trying to calm his trembling hands in handling his pistol. Noin's own gaze narrowed as she hissed, "So this is how they planned on ending it." Grabbing Angie's arm, she shouted to her, "Stay with us!" The dark-haired Preventer bit her lip and nodded.
Smoke began to creep from beneath the door as footsteps thumping overhead searched the apartment. Duo followed Noin closely with Angie right behind. Holding her breath before reaching the smoke as not to alert the intruders, Noin turned to her braided partner with a nod to see that he was ready.
With a deep breath of his own, Duo forced himself to nod firmly, his hands still trembling as they fought to grip his pistol. Noin knocked the basement door down with a firm kick to its hinges and ran into the smoky, fiery scene. Covering her nose and mouth with her shirt, she held her gun forward, spinning as she moved through the living room. Duo followed her movements after covering his own mouth and nose.
Just outside, Wufei was the closest to the apartment as he ran into the scene. No sooner had feet touched the curb than the headlights of a utility truck fell upon him with the loud roar of an engine. His dark eyes wide, the Chinese pilot jumped back into the wooded area-narrowly missing the vehicle that sped past while losing several long metal pipes that it was carrying. The driver's door opened with the firing of three shots.
In his attempt to avoid the bullets, the raven-haired Preventer was merely nicked in his left arm and shoulder. The third shot, however, hit its mark. Crying our as a bullet tore into his right shoulder, Wufei lost hold of his weapon and transmitter as he stumbled to the ground in a wave of shearing pain.
As he struggled to crawl on the ground for his weapon, Wufei panted heavily in his frantic effort. The dark-clad man from the truck chuckled darkly as he stalked towards him. At the sound of the next bullet locking into place, the Chinese pilot froze- his left hand stretching for the revolver that was a couple inches too far for him to reach in time.
Slowly, Wufei looked up to the young man's thin face, his green eyes shimmering in the light of the flames to his back as they began to eat away at the apartment walls. Aiming his pistol for the injured pilot's head, he smirked darkly, "And then there were two."
His dark eyes closing tightly, Wufei prepared for the shot to ring out.
Just as the finger began to pull back on the trigger, the man stopped with wide eyes at the sound of a sudden, prolonged scream that burst from the trees to his left. Wufei opened his eyes just in time to watch as Anna, running up with a long, steel pipe that had rolled from the back of the truck.
Taking the pipe in both hands, the red-headed Preventer gave a sharp cry as she raised the weapon over her head. With a forceful swing, the pipe fell on the stunned man's arms, the loud snapping of bones filling the air.
With a scream of pain, the man lost his pistol. Quickly pulling the long rod around, Anna cried out with another forceful swing to the back of the assailant's legs. As the tall man fell to his knees, the injured Preventer stumbled a bit to handle the pipe as a bat.
Her eye narrowed and with another loud scream, she swung the steel weapon around to strike the back of the man's skull with a sickening crack as the tall man fell forward with blood oozing from the back of his head.
From the force of the blow she delivered, Anna collapsed in a heap as the adrenaline that drove her through her pain faded. Her blue eyes narrowed on the corpse of the assassin, she mumbled with a cut, swollen bottom lip, "Ain't so tough without your fucking truck, are you?" With a moan of pain, her eyes closed tightly as she her arm draped over her abdomen.
His eyes wide, Wufei scrambled to his feet as he cried, "Anna!" Nursing his injured shoulder, he reached his friend's side to examine her many cuts and bruises that shown through her tattered uniform. Gently, he ran a hand through her long bangs, taking a deep breath when the young woman's eyes opened to meet his concerned gaze.
Despite her cut and bleeding lip, Anna managed to smirk enough to ground out the words, "Words cannot express how pissed off I am right now." With a deep sigh, the dark-haired pilot chuckled deeply in relief.
The two pilots flinched at another explosion from the apartment. The top floor of the residence was quickly catching aflame when they looked up. Wincing in pain, Anna's eyes squeezed closed as she clutched her sides again. Her skin paling more than it already was in the light of the fire, Anna whispered, "What the hell have I been missing?"
Within the house, Noin and Duo quickly moved through the wide, smoke filled living room with their weapons held out before them. Shots suddenly rang out behind them, causing Angie to scream through the shirt covering her nose and mouth as she ducked to the floor. Spinning quickly with wide eyes the two Preventers desperately tried to search through the occasional flashes of flames and plumes of dark smoke.
Narrowing her eyes, Noin forced her ears to focus on the sound of running footsteps. Following the sound with her revolver, she waited five hastened, nearly inaudible steps and first three rounds. A strangled cry of a woman came from the darkness followed by a thud. Panting heavily, Noin smiled to herself, only to freeze with wide eyes when she something press against the back of her head.
"Drop it," a deep voice growled deeply in her ear. Raising her arms, Noin opened her right hand. The revolver slipped from her slackened grasp to bounce on the carpeted floor.
Only a foot away, his back to the scene, Duo picked up on the quiet order given Noin, the soft thud of the gun when it hit the ground. "You," the man called to the braided Preventer. "Drop your gun before I blow your partner's brains over the walls." With a whimper, Angie covered her head as she remained low to the ground.
Desperately trying to calm his heavy breathing, Duo felt his hands beginning to tremble as the smoke and fire continued to close in. The blood rushing in his ear to join every rough beat of his heart, the braided pilot knew that he only had one choice to see that he and the others made it out. Gritting his teeth and forcing his hands to steady in tight fists around his revolver, his violet eyes narrowed and he straightened his back.
There would not be anymore hiding. No more running.
Watching in silent shock Duo had not lowered his weapon yet, Noin moved quickly. Spinning in the arm of the man holding her, the tall young woman elbowed him in his firm chest with a sharp yell. Crying out at the sudden hit, the man stumbled backwards a couple paces. In her sudden freedom, Noin fell to cover Angie with her own body for protection should the assailant get his bearings.
The sound of the struggle alerted the braided pilot and snapped around, his gun aimed high as he fired four shots, all hitting their mark. With wide eyes, the bullet-ridden man fell back, blood coursing down the sides of his face before he collapsed into a burning wall.
As he held an arm up to shield his eyes, Duo couched roughly as he quickly ran towards the front door to kick from its burning hinges. Removing the top of his shirt from his mouth, he turned and yelled back to the other Preventers, "Come on!" Noin took hold of Angie's shoulders and forced her to her feet as she ran outside with her with Duo right behind to see them out safely.
By the time Noin and Duo reached the safe outdoors with their charge, Trowa and Zechs were just running into the scene. The relief evident in the blonde pilot's eyes, he ran up to his wife to hold her at arm's length. Panting heavily, Noin shook her head with a smirk, "I'm fine, Zechs."
Everyone's eyes widened like saucers along when they saw two figures stumbling into the scene as they leaned against each other. "Anna!" Trowa cried, running to the pair.
At the sight of his lover's injuries when he approached, the tall pilot instantly focused on the next step. When he gently cradled the young woman into his arms, Anna was almost unconscious as she moaned deeply, her eyes heavy and finally closing.
"We can't wait to get her back to the safe house," Wufei frowned deeply. "I'm going to call Sally to meet us at a hospital on the way there." Gesturing to the deep, bleeping gash on his tall friend's right shoulder, he suggested, "We best get our own injuries checked out and cleaned, as well. No sense risking infection while we take the long way back."
Angie ran up at that time after overhearing the conversation. "I know where the nearest hospital in the area," she stated, grateful for something to take her attention from her ordeal... thankful to be able to help do something. "I can show the way."
* * * * * *
When the phone rang, Sally was the first to reach it before the others. With anxious faces, Lady Une, Heero, Relena and Quatre watched and listed intently as the braided woman greeted, "Hello?"
Swallowing hard, the Japanese pilot tried not to dwell on the look of concern on Sally's face that she quickly masked during the long pause. With a farm nod, she replied, "I'll be right there." Lowering the receiver, the blonde agent looked to her Commander and announced, "That was Wufei. Angie is safe and the card is in tact. They're headed to the Saint John's hospital to check out some injuries."
"H-hospital?" Heero stammered, his cobalt eyes wide. Relena and Quatre quickly rose to their feet with concerned faces.
Sally turned to meet the ex-Wing pilot's eyes and reassured him, "Duo is fine. However, Anna, Wufei and Trowa have injuries that need to be examined that cannot wait until they get back here. They're all staying together as a group." Heading for her shoes, the braided woman continued, "I am heading over to the hospital now to oversee things."
Quickly taking up her cell phone, Lady Une commented, "We'll take my car. I'll inform the police force that we more need more back roads to be secured and blocked. Angie knows the area better than we do, so I can call her to get the names of those roads."
With a deep sigh, Heero washed his face with his hands. His great relief was soon replaced with his worry for his other friends. Turning just as Sally were headed for the door, he called, "I'm going with you." In a chorus, Relena and Quatre expressed their interest to go alone. Knowing better, the young women did not protest but signaled for them to hurry. Soon, they were all out the door.
* * * * * *
Pacing anxiously in his room, Kent growled deeply to himself, "They should have gotten back to me by now." At the sound of his vid phone ringing, the young man's eyes widened. Opening the screen quickly, he forced himself not to gasp in shock at the image that greeted him. with a smile, he greeted, "Hello, Mister President."
The white-haired man's eyes narrowed, "You're hiding something from me, Kent. You seemed quite worried about something the last time we spoke before my speech. And I had a file that you should have sent me from your data entries before I returned." In seeing the sweat beading on the young man's brow, he growled deeply, "Where is your card, Kent?"
Kent shouted, pleading, "I can explain, sir! It was an honest mistake! I just sent a team to recover the data card earlier this evening."
"And have they gotten back to you yet?" the President asked with a raised eyebrow. All Kent could do was swallow hard, unable to find his voice. Sighing deeply, the older man frowned, "I am sorry, Kent, but our relations have been compromised."
The connection was cut just as Kent leaned forward, screaming, "No!" The sound of three detonators that had been hidden in his secluded office beeping to life filled his ears. Closing his eyes, the young man reminded himself how he always admired the President's ability to cover every one of his tracks.
In an implosion of flame and a deafening crash, another one of those tracks was erased.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page