[All my life I've been searching for somethin'
Somethin' never comes, never leads to nothin'
Nothin' satisfies, but I'm gettin' close
Closer to the prize at the end of the rope]
--- Lyrics to 'All My Life' by Foo Fighters
A Silver Lining Part 35
His eyes narrowing at the sight of the dark orphanage coming into view at the end of the long road, with nothing but dense wood around them otherwise, Zechs watched the building closely. Though there were no cars in sight, he knew better than to lower his guard. After racing down the major highways to shave off time to reach the site, the tall Preventer brought the vehicle to a slow crawl as he searched their surroundings with the second car close behind.
The headlights of the car he drove flashed up when he rolled over a small hill, casting the light up to the second level of windows. In that brief cast, something metallic reflected in the window before moving. His eyes widening, Zechs shouted, "Get out of the cars now! They're watching us!"
At that, the doors to the two cars flew open just as hail of bullets rained down from the building, the loud explosions from the gunfire nearly deafening. The brief light given off from every shot lit the darkened opening like lightening flashes. Wufei, Quatre, Sally, Angie and Scott crawled on their stomachs to the first car, shielding themselves behind the opened car door along with their comrades.
With the tight quarters, the agents struggled in their haste to retrieve their weapons. "Fuck, I didn't expect it to be this bad!" Duo yelled over the loud pops of gunfire. "Bulletproof seals or not, these cars won't be able to take this sort of hit for long!"
Scott quickly scanned the front of the large estate and noted aloud to the team, "They broke all the glass from the windows before we got here to keep us guessing where they're shooting at us from."
Finally retrieving a semi-automatic from the car, Heero was the first to rise to his feet and return fire. After a few rounds, he ducked behind the door where Quatre bit his lip in waiting for a break in the shooting to return the favor. "There are three on the second floor from what I could tell," the ex-Wing pilot called to the others.
"There's at least two on the ground level," Trowa followed up before rising to his feet again to fire a few shots. "We won't be able to get very far at this rate."
* * * * * *
Within the orphanage, on the second level, Tim dug his fingers into his hair as he watched the onslaught with wide eyes. From down the hall, he could hear Cassandra yelling into her radio, "They're here! I repeat! They're here!" From his view out the window, he watched as the two cars were fired upon endlessly.
"It's too soon!" the fallen Preventer cried, having to scream to hear his own voice in his ears. "They're here too soon! They shouldn't be here now!"
His eyes narrowed, Mike shoved a riffle into the young man's arms. "Who gives a shit! So we start the party early! I'll stay here with the detonator and get finished up. You get down stairs and help the others hold them off a little longer! I need more time than this!" he shouted.
Snapping from his haze of fear, Tim swallowed hard and ran off with the weapon. Making his way down the other end of the hall and into the bedroom overlooking the front of the building, he panted heavily as he gazed out the window. With a sharp gasp, he pulled away and lowered himself into a dark corner. He couldn't risk being seen by the Preventers now.
With his hands clutching the weapon, the young agent rose to his feet with a hunched back to avoid fire as he fled the room and darted down the hall. In the confusion of all that was taking place, he went unnoticed in his desperate charge. Quickly descending the stairs, Tim made his way to the back of the orphanage to his only escape.
Feverishly kicking away the dressers and other heavy furniture that had been used to block off the door prior to the attack, he finally managed to clear the door. His sweaty hands slipping at his first couple attempts, he cried out in frustration-the sound lost to the loud gunfire all around. His grey eyes narrowed, he kicked the door off its hinges with a loud grunt of effort. The way made clear, he ran into the dark night and into the surrounding forest.
* * * * * *
"Come on you son of a bitch," Duo hissed, one eye closed tightly and the other narrowed in its aim with his sharp shooter. The window that he had been watching closely since their arrival finally showed sign of life again. Just as the person in that second-floor room crept into position to fire again, the braided pilot pulled his trigger first, landing his mark through his target's head. "One down!" he cheered as the lifeless body fell back.
Mere seconds later, Sally made contact with another assailant, this on the first floor. The scream of pain that the gunman made as he writhed was cut off when the young woman made a clean second shot. One final sway and the still body collapsed to hang from the shell of the window. With a smirk, the braided agent called, "There's two!"
Noin cried out in pain when a bullet grazed her arm. Her eyes widening, she turned in the direction that the bullet came from. "We have more hiding in the trees out here!" she shouted to the others.
"I saw where the shot came from," Heero announced as he reached into the vehicle for a pair of night vision glasses. "I'm going after them." Without another word, the ex-Wing pilot charged into the thick cover of trees.
On the other side of the road, at a sudden movement in the trees that she caught from the corner of her eye, Angie just managed to avoid a bullet aimed for her. "We've got another over here!" she yelled. With one of the last pair of glasses, she yelled, "I'll secure the area over on this side."
Nodding firmly, Scott announced, "I'll go off to see if I can't reach the back of the building while I clear the area with Angie." There were a few affirmatives hollered over the gunfire before the two agents disappeared.
Thankfully, with the coverage provided by the two agents at either side, the random fire that was beginning to fall upon the rescue team came to a halt. While it was little relief in the onslaught that was falling upon them, it was something.
* * * * * *
Back within the orphanage, Logan rose from the basement, Rachel still in the tight hold of his left arm. As he neared the front of the building, to the gaping opening that he had created, he asked over his radio, "How are we?"
Cassandra's voice replied, "We've lost Garret and Michelle, so we're down to six securing the building. Dan and Phil were stationed at either side of the driveway in the trees. They were being pursued last they called in."
Nodding to himself, the tall man stated, "I'm on my way out with the girl. When they get close enough, start the detonator and get the hell out of here." His dark eyes turned to Jamie and Alex as he thought aloud, "Too many of us leaving at once will draw too much attention."
With a snort, Jamie commented, "We won't be far behind. Alex and I will see that the kids and their babysitters stay put until the others let those pilots get close enough when Mike is ready. Just get that girl out of here."
"All right. Give them hell for me," Logan replied. Turning to the terrified child, he warned, "Not a sound out of you now." Biting her lip, Rachel nodded in compliance before he made his way to the back of the orphanage. When he reached the door, the tall man hissed, "Goddamn it. That little snake in the grass managed to sneak out of here."
Rachel bit down on her bear's foot to keep from whimpering. The mean man was getting mad and she didn't want to think what else he may do if she didn't stay quiet as he had told her. She tried desperately not to think of what had happened to Father Bruce. Her concern for the other children left behind was enough to make her break out in a cold sweat.
Shaking his head, he thought aloud, "No matter. He won't get far." With a deep chuckle, he smirked, "I hope he gets hit by a stray bullet, the coward." With that, he stepped out of the building, quickly making his way down the path that he and his men had cut away through the tall brush prior to arriving.
* * * * * *
Back at the driveway, Zechs ducked behind the driver side door as bullets whizzed past and frowned deeply, "Something's wrong." Looking across to his wife, he inquired, "You said that someone cut the call that you made more than twenty minutes ago, right after you told Sister Grace how far off we were, right?"
Noin ducked lower behind the car door shielding her with a confused look, but nodded, "That's right. What are you getting at?"
His eyes narrowing further, the blonde man asked loudly, "Why go through all the trouble of setting up a resistance for us when they knew that they had more than enough time to escape with the girl, leaving us with no way of finding them?"
Realization filled the young woman's widening eyes as her skin paled. "We're being lured into a trap!" she yelled, her eyes narrowing in frustration of not having come to the conclusion sooner. Turning back to the others, she yelled, "They must have a bomb inside!"
Cursing to himself, Tim frantically tired to calm his shaking hands in effort to hold the wires still. It had taken longer for him to find the hidden cars than he had hoped it would. With his pen-sized flashlight clutched tightly between his teeth, his efforts to hot wire the first vehicle were proving to be a challenge with his failing nerves. In the distance, the continuous thunder of gunfire drifted through the thick trees around him.
A deep voice commented, "You know, these tend to work better." With a sharp gasp, Tim froze. Slowly, his head turned to find a glaring Logan, the girl in one arm and his free hand dangling a set of keys to the car.
His eyes wide, the fallen Preventer forced a smile as he quickly rose out of the driver seat. "You got her!" he breathed in relief, his arms stretched to the child and hoping that all would be forgotten with his attempt to get away with one of the few getaway vehicles.
With a deep grunt, Logan shoved the smaller man aside with a sharp, "Get in. We'll discuss this little matter later." Stumbling to keep his footing following the rough push, Tim all too gladly rounded the front of the car to climb into the passenger seat.
Bending down to slip into the driver seat, the tall mercenary placed the pale child between the two of them as he closed the door with a loud slam. As he brought the car to life, Logan announced into his radio, "I'm leaving with the girl. Hold your fire until we're away." Looking to the coward beside him, he tossed a newly loaded pistol and hissed, "Roll your window down and make yourself useful."
His grey eyes widening, Tim cried, "But I can't risk being seen!"
Logan's eyes narrowed threatening as he took the gun into his possession once more. "You really are a pussy," he gritted as he rolled down his own window "If you're so worried, then get in the back seat and stay down." Looking to the little girl, he told her, "You keep down, too, girl." Nodding enthusiastically, Rachel complied as sunk in the passenger seat as Tim eagerly climbed into the back.
* * * * * *
At the front of the orphanage, just as quickly as the hail of bullets began, it suddenly came to a halt. Their eyes widening in disbelief, Zechs, Noin and the other pilots carefully raised their heads, but did not dare to risk rising to their feet at the chance that the gunmen hidden in the rooms were waiting for a chance to pick them off.
Panting heavily from their long excursion, Wufei frowned, "Now what?" No sooner had he asked than the sound of a car engine's purr grew into a roar as it neared, a pair of headlights rounding the tall building in its approach to the only way out of the opening.
With the car heading right for them, to the team of agents, it only looked to carry a lone driver. Pulling their weapons, the pilots fired on the quickly approaching car. The driver steered the car to drive over the thick grass just to the side of the dirt path where their cars had been blocking the way out. As he passed, the driver laughed loudly as he hung out the window, firing with one hand while controlling the wheel with the other as he rounded the Preventer vehicles. As quickly as the car was going, the man's arm could not hold steady enough to make a solid lock on his targets.
His eyes widening, Trowa watched as for an instant, a child's head peered up just as they passed. When their eyes met, the child's brown eyes filled with tears as she screamed hoarsely through the open window, "Trowa!"
"Rachel!" the tall pilot yelled. As the car recklessly maneuvered its way from the grassy edge onto the dirt road, Trowa yelled to the unaware friends that were still firing, "Hold your fire! Rachel's in their!" The other pilots froze, their own eyes filled with fear as they watched the car disappear down the road and into the darkness.
With their prize now carried away safely, the gunmen in the orphanage made their presence known once more with a renewed attack of gunfire. Ducking behind the car door that he had been pinned behind, Trowa's narrowed eyes looked through the inside of the car and yelled to his friend across from him, "Chang!"
Already reading the other young man's thoughts, the Chinese pilot nodded firmly. Together, the two young men crawled amidst the flying bullets to the abandoned car behind them. His dark eyes narrowed in determination, Wufei started the black automobile once all the doors were closed. Peeling backwards into a hasty u-turn, the two pilots sped off in search of the retreating culprit.
Over the loud crackle of guns shooting, Zechs yelled to the remainder of his team, "Everyone get inside and stay down! We've wasted too much time here!" Not needing any further insistence, Duo, Quatre, Noin and Sally dove into the car and ducked low with the tall pilot taking the wheel. Glaring at the tall building, the blonde man growled deeply, "We're going in on our own terms, not theirs."
With bullets flying through the windshield and nicking his arms, Zechs revved the car and sent it into drive. Two gunmen stationed at what had once been the main entrance could only gape in shock and terror at the sight of the car charging head-on for them. With no time to react, they were crushed when the car plowed through weakened opening of brick and wood.
Crashing through the first wall inside, Zechs managed to control the car enough to come to a halt in the middle of the hallway. Just feet in front of the black automobile, illuminated by the bright headlights, there was yet another large hole in a wall that looked to have been blown open.
Debris fell off the car as the pilots quickly vacated the vehicle. Looking over his shoulder, Zechs ordered, "Duo, Quatre, check the basement. The rest of us split up and take out the rest of the welcoming party." Sally and Noin ran down one end of the building while Zechs ran down the other, carefully searching all of the rooms for the remaining gunmen.
Their weapons ready, Duo led his blonde friend down the stairs quietly and slowly. As dark as it was in their descent, it was difficult to find their footing. When they neared the bottom of the stairway, the braided pilot heard the metallic click of a pistol's safety being removed and the gun locking on him.
Using only his ears to guide him on where the sound originated, the American quickly turned with his own gun in both hands in the direction. Without hesitating, Duo pulled back on the trigger twice. The young woman that was hit fell silently in a heap with only light thump to let him know that he hit his mark.
"Don't move!" a man's voice shouted. At the sound the two young men turned, Quatre's right arm rising to point his own gun. Now that their eyes had adjusted to the dim candle light, the two pilots noted the dead, blonde woman on the floor, her gun still in her hand.
Scanning the room behind the assailant, Duo's violet eyes widened in concern at the little faces watching the events unfold from the furthest corner of the room. Many of those faces were familiar from his stay at the ship that had brought them back to the Earth from their rescue. At the lump that filled his throat, he swallowed hard.
The source of the shout stepped forward, a graying woman's back pressed against the muscular young man. With one arm holding the woman tightly across her shoulders and his other holding the barrel of a gun to her temple, the man shouted, "Lower your weapons or she's dead!" With tears rolling down her face, the Sister's eyes closed tightly as she swallowed roughly.
His arm falling to the side, Duo remained calm as he let his gun fall to the floor. Without looking over his shoulder to his friend still on the last stairs, he asked, "You got it, Quat?"
Not having moved, his arm still locked and his finger on the trigger, Quatre smirked, "What do you think?"
Panic filled the man's widening eyes as he screamed at the Arab, "I told you to put your weapons the fuck down, now!"
A smug, satisfied smirk slowly crept on the braided Preventer's face. In a flat voice, he ordered, "Take it." His eyes narrowing, Quatre pulled the trigger, sending a bullet ripping through the assailant's neck. Falling back with a last, bubbly gasp, the mercenary collapsed beside his fallen accomplice.
Suddenly free from her attacker, the graying sister's eyes widened as her hands reached up to wrap around her neck as it to check that she was still breathing. With a glance over his shoulder, Duo smiled to his friend, "Still got it."
Quatre gave a mock hurt look and asked, "You expected less of me?" His smile returning, the blonde pilot descended the last stairs as the heard of children ran to them, crying in terror and relief from their ordeal.
Falling to her knees, the Sister took each of the young men's hands and kissed them repeatedly. "Thank you," she whispered brokenly. "Thank the good Lord you got here when you did to save these young ones." With a gesture of her head, her shimmering in the candlelight, she whimpered, "Father Bryce..." Her voice cracked and she was unable to continue as she fell into violent sobbing.
Their eyes turning to a body that had been tossed to the other side of the room, Quatre's eyes widened as he breathed, "Dear Allah."
His own violet eyes widened and his skin paling, Duo sharply turned his head away. Biting his lip, the braided pilot's trembling hands reached out to the children that were gathering close. Unable to find his voice, he pulled the ones closest into his arms and held them close. Sniffling, one of the little girls looked up to him and sniffled with a small smile, "We've missed you, Duo."
With a watery smile of his own, the American struggled to keep his own emotions in check as he whispered back, "I've missed you little ankle biters, too." At the nickname he had given them on the rescue ship, the children giggled as they all had their turns to be reunited with their braided hero.
* * * * * *
His eyes narrowed, Mike's hands shook in their hasty effort to tie in the last of the wires. He was not ready for the pilots to make their way into the orphanage yet. Their unexpected move into the building meant that he would not be able to trigger the explosives from outside now. Resolving himself to the task, nevertheless, he went to work on the timer. If he was going to die that evening, he would go knowing that he sent the agents into Hell with him.
"Finally," he sighed deeply in relief, sweat running down his face. Entering the access code, a sinister smile pulled at his lips. Large, red numbers appeared on the large screen of the detonator, counting down from 5:00. There wouldn't be any time for them to get everyone out, or away far enough at that time.
A gunfight broke out down the hall, ending with Cassandra's cry of pain being cut short with the sound of another bullet. "One more down," a young woman's voice called. At that announcement, Mike swallowed hard. If they got to Cassandra, that meant that he was the last one left. Thankfully, he managed to pull his work off, and not a moment too soon.
The sound of footsteps from both ends of the hall quickly approached the room where he waited. At the sight of a braided young woman carefully searching the room, he smirked darkly. Her eyes narrowed and her gun trained on him, the Preventer hissed, "Hands in the air where I can see them."
With a loud, bitter laugh, Mike shouted, "No need for that, darling! We're all as good as dead!" His hand reached for the gun at his belt and his smile still in place, he hissed, "I'll see you in Hell!" Before the young woman would blink, he pulled his gun up, pressed it against his temple and pulled the trigger.
Her eyes widening, Sally ran into the room as a spray of blood, skull and brain splattered against the wall as the man collapsed. With a sharp gasp, she found the large detonator in the corner that he had been guarding, its timer reading 4:20 and rapidly counting down. Reaching for her radio, the braided Preventer shouted, "Quatre! Noin! I need the two of you here now!"
* * * * * *
"Goddamn it," Trowa growled, his eyes narrowed on the taillights of the car that was rapidly speeding off ahead of them down the empty highway. "Can't we get any closer."
His own dark eyes trained on the other car, Wufei reassured him, "I'm working on that."
In the getaway car, Rachel bit her lip as the mean man named Logan chucked deeply to himself again. Looking over her shoulder, she could see the black car falling further and further back. "Only another mile and they won't have any way of following us," the tall man smirked.
In hearing that, Rachel began to breath heavy and sweat again. Time was running out. Looking to the man's belt with the many guns and knives, her brown eyes widened. Trowa had told her once that she was brave. She had to be brave now if she would ever get away from the bad men.
With a deep breath, the child gathered all the courage she could. With a sudden lunge, Rachel threw her bear down and dove for one of the long knives. "What the f-!" was all Logan could cry out before the girls little hands stabbed the blade into his neck with all her strength and weight behind it with her own cry of effort.
His hands flailing at the knife that was embedded in his neck to the hilt, Logan gasped raggedly for air as blood poured from the wound. The car swerved violently to one side of the road to the other.
"What the fuck is going on!" Tim yelled from where he was lying across the back seat. In the car's violent shifts, he could not get his balance to rise from his place. Rachel quickly returned to her seat, managing to secure the seat belt across her. With one final, choked gasp, the mean man fell forward, onto the wheel. At that, the car turned off the right side of the road entirely, slamming head on into a tree.
Their own car coming to a stop before the crashed vehicle, Trowa's widened eyed took in the damaged car, the front of it run in half where the large tree trunk split it. "My God," the tall pilot breathed. His eyes filling with tears, he cried, "Rachel!" Not even thinking to bring a weapon with him, he ran to the smoking car.
Slowly, the little girl climbed half-way through the shattered car door window, her precious bear ever in her possession. Looking up at the young man, she shouted in elation, "Trowa!"
Carefully pulling the girl out through the window, the Latin pilot pulled her close, breathing, "Oh, you brave little thing." Rachel clung tightly to him, her little arms wrapping around his neck as he rained kisses on her head.
From where he remained lying I the back seat, Tim's eyes narrowed as he watched the tender scene. Smirking, he slowly raised the pistol that he had in his belt.
"Don't. Even. Think about it," a deep voice gritted from the other side of the car. His eyes widening, the fallen Preventer looked up through the broken window to see Wufei with a fierce glare and gun aimed at him. Recognition filling the dark eyes, he watched as a lop-sided smirk tugged the pilot's lips as he greeted darkly, "Well, well. Good to see you, Tim."
* * * * * *
The last gunman had proven to be a challenge, but he certainly was no match for one once deemed the Perfect Soldier. Removing his night vision glasses, Heero sighed deeply in relief. At the announcement of the orphanage being secured by the remainder of the team, he moved about to see that there were no other assailants lurking about.
Angie and Scott approached from the other side of the woods, meeting him in the middle and behind the building at the end of their clearing the area. In their search, they came across several cars hidden among the trees. "So this is where they managed to secure their getaway vehicles," Scott thought aloud as he appraised the handiwork and wide range of transports. With a nod to the Japanese pilot as they replaced their weapons, Scott asked, "Mission accomplished, then?"
"Not quite," Angie replied. As the two men looked to the young woman, she quickly raised her pistol and fired three times into Scott's abdomen. The stunned, wide-eyed agent fell backwards as Heero moved to retrieve his weapon, only to have Angie train her gun on him before he could reach it.
Chuckling deeply, the young woman smirked, "Alone at last."
TBC...
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