[But don't stop if I fall
And don't look back
Oh baby don't stop
Bury me and fade to black]
--- Lyrics to 'Hang 'Em High' performed by My Chemical Romance
A Silver Lining Part 37
The world had been shattered into thousands of fragments and only now, with some time to think things through did some pieces of the puzzle come together.
Glaring fiercely at the young woman driving- who he once thought a victim and friend- Heero growled deeply, "So you set Kent up. This whole time you acted as though you happened to come across his card, it was all a huge set up."
Angie chuckled deeply and peered out the corner of her eye, replying, "You certainly are a clever one." Her gaze turned back to the road as she smirked, "Kent, if that even was his name, had been the victim of ironic circumstances. While I was sleeping with him, I had no idea of who he was, until I hacked into the card that fool had left behind and realized what a small universe we all live in."
Clenching his hands, his wrists bound by the metal cuffs that went from his wrists to mid-forearm, the Japanese pilot asked, "When you found out that he was with White Out, why didn't you just contact him to work with him?"
Her head still facing forward, the dark-haired young woman chuckled deeply, "The agent that I work for had been looking for advancement in the organization. Kent was the direct subordinate to the man calling the shots. Once he was out of the picture, my superior filled in. And I get to ride her curtails."
Looking over at her captive, Angie commented, "Isis is not one to be steered away from what she wants. Luckily for her, unlike Kent, she put her stock in one person within the Preventers to help her reach those goals. She made the right choice with me."
"You're quite the actress," Heero hissed. "All of those tears and your distraught state when you were rescued were very believable." A proud smile tugged at Angie's lips, but she did not respond any other way.
Another realization hit the ex-Wing pilot like a blow to his gut, his cobalt eyes widening. "You were the one who killed Brian, Sara and Mark when they were moved into that holding cell," he stated.
The young woman looked to him in surprise before looking back to the road. Gritting his teeth, Heero realized aloud, "Of course. You have access to all of the data entries in the Preventers, so you knew where they were and how to sneak in."
Angie shook her head in amusement, "Very good, Heero." Feigning sadness, she sighed, "It pained me to have to kill them, but I was under orders." The 'sorrow' quickly fading, she laughed loudly in merriment.
With his breath hitching in his throat, Heero paled as another pieces fell into place. "My God," he breathed, unable to move. "You're the one who told White Out about the mission that Duo and I were on years ago." His face burning with rage, he turned to her and screamed, "You're the reason Duo ended up in their captivity for over two years!"
Shrugging nonchalantly, Angie answered flippantly, "Guilty as charged. Like Kent, Brian, Sara and Mark, he was just another victim of circumstance."
After a long pause, she peered once more out of the corner of her eye and smirked, "Ironic how all this time, you were the one that they've been after all along, and no one figured it out. Now, not only will I be the one bringing you in, I was successful in locating the whereabouts of your safe house." His mouth drying, the Japanese agent froze once more.
"Duo had it easy compared to what awaits Relena and Anna tonight," the fallen Preventer said quietly, her eyes narrowing on the road. "They'll be used to be made examples of what happens to those who oppose us."
Swallowing hard, Heero sank in his seat, staring out at nothing as a cold chill ran up his spine. With a shaky breath, he said a silent prayer for a miracle that somehow, Relena and Anna would be all right...
...or that if it was too late, that their end would be quick.
* * * * * *
With the moonlight pouring in from the many windows, Anna navigated herself through the house, leading Relena by the hand upstairs. Outside, the loud shouts, howls and laughter continued as it had when the many cars arrived mere minutes ago. Reaching the second level of the house, the redhead quickly entered the furthest bedroom down the hall and opened the closet. "In here," she whispered urgently.
Relena, cradling a frightened Yuuki in her arms, stepped into the closet while Anna searched under the bed. Her friend came up with two shotguns and bullets, sighing in relief, "Good 'ol Wufei and his supply of weapons."
Turning to the blonde politician with a grim expression on her face, the redhead held the gun and ammo out to her and said sternly, "If anyone opens this door without announcing themselves, you shoot. Don't even take a second to think. Just shoot."
Her panic rising, Relena's eyes widened as she lowered the pup to take up the weapon with one hand while grabbing her friend's hand in the other. "Wait. Where are you going?" she frowned deeply.
Without blinking, Anna answered simply, "We have weapons stored in the attic two floors up. I'm going to slowly draw them after me, taking out as many as I can, before I hold them up there. It'll keep them occupied enough to take their focus from looking for you.
"Lady Une was on her way out here when she called last, so we have to stall long enough in hopes that she'll be able to help somehow." Sitting on the floor with a long blade that she also found under the bed, she began loosening the screw hinges on her leg brace.
The harsh reality of the situation settling in, the pregnant young woman breathed, "Do you really think that their intent is to kill us, and not just to capture us?" Outside, the cars continued to circle the large estate and the sound of gunshots filled the air as the loud antics continued.
"Whoever sent them here sent too many of their own for it to be a simple capture mission," the long-haired young woman replied in calm certainty. With a deep growl of effort, she pulled at the loosened hinges until they snapped free and the brace fell apart.
Freed from the brace, she quickly removed her shoes and socks. After shoving them along with the loose metal pieces under the bed, Anna rose to her feet and told her friend, "Just keep still and wait until I come back to get you, but now I have to go."
At that, Relena nodded and stepped deeper into the closet, grabbing a handful of ammo, before the redhead closed the tall door. Even as the door closed on her, she wished that she could have said something, wish Anna luck or told her to be careful, but her constricting throat would not permit so much as a whimper to escape its tight clasp. But the small, tight smile that the Preventer flashed her before she was shut away spoke of Anna's own struggle to find the right thing to say at that moment.
Slowly settling her self to sit on the floor in the dark, Relena clutched the shotgun close in one hand while patting the whimpering pup beside her. Even the cries from outside were dulled by the pounding of her heart and blood hushing in her ears. Closing her eyes, the blonde young woman whispered a prayer, something that she had not done in years.
Taking up the second shot gun, the Preventer loaded the weapon before taking a handful of bullets. Quickly walking from the room, Anna raised her left arm and kissed the Saint Christopher charm bracelet that she always wore.
"I'm going to need all the help I can get tonight, buddy," Anna whispered to the amage of the angel on her coin-shaped charm. That said, she headed for the stairs and shifted the slide of the shotgun to arm the weapon, its metallic click filling the stillness.
* * * * * *
"Here comes the calvary," Duo grinned as two large trucks and a black car pulled in and came to a stop. Leaving the headlights on, the drivers of the vehicles and the agents in the back of the trucks stepped out. After a quick scan of their surroundings, the Preventers lowered their weapons and approached the building.
His hand extended, the first driver grinned, "Fine work, as always, Agent Phoenix." He nodded to the other pilots, "Agent Water. Mister Winner." Gesturing to the trucks behind him, the blonde agent said, "We'll be the escorts from here. Lady Une already found a suitable shelter for the kids and their guardians."
The young man looked into the large opening of the orphanage, where the black car that had been used as a battering-ram remained slammed into a wall inside. Laughing, the Preventer gestured to the black car that he and his team arrived with. "Good thing we brought a spare for you just in case!"
With a nod, Duo smiled in relief, "Thanks, Agent Flame." Turning to the wide opening, the braided pilot called, "Your chariots await." With Sister Grace in the lead, the children stepped out into the open. At the sight of the frightened young faces, Agent Fire and the remainder of the team gave them warm smiles.
Kneeling, Quatre gestured to the escort team and grinned to the children around him, "Everyone, these are more of our friends from the Preventers. They're going to look after you and take you to a safer place now."
The ex-Sandrock pilot blinked in surprise when one of the little girls hugged his neck with a whispered 'thank you.' Closing his eyes with a wide smile, the he hugged her back tightly before kissing her head and waving her off.
While the children were led to the trucks by the recovery team, most of them went to hug and thank the three agents that had saved them. Moved beyond words to express her gratitude, Sister Grace hugged them all with tears in her eyes before being led away.
After accepting his tearful embrace from her, Duo was beginning to feel his nerves collapsing once more. It had been all too much for him- having to see the priest that had been killed and now to have that nun embrace him only brought back more painful memories of his past. It was all he could do to refrain from trembling where he stood.
Once everyone was loaded, the two trucks revved and pulled out of the opening before fading away in the distance.
Brushing back a few loose wisps of hair fro her face, Sally sighed deeply, "Well, this has been one hell of a night."
"That's an understatement," Quatre chuckled deeply. His smile faded when he looked to his American friend. Picking up on his growing concern, he watched as the braided pilot gazed around the trees anxiously.
As he was about to offer some words of support, Quatre paused at the sound of footsteps running around the corner. Looking up, the three Preventers watched as Zechs and Noin panted into the scene. At the grim expression on their faces, his violet eyes widening, Duo paled. Walking up to the pair urgently, he asked, "What's wrong? Where's Heero?"
Nervously, the two agents looked to each other before Zechs took a deep breath and met the worried gaze. "We don't know," he answered with a deep frown. Noin bit her lip and lowered her gaze to the ground.
Blinking in shock, Duo breathed, "You don't know?" His breathing came in quick, frantic pulls and he shouted, "What do you mean, you don't know!"
Noin closed the distance between them and placed her hands on his shoulders for support. Swallowing hard, she said quietly, "The car that had taken off while we were disarming the bomb was carrying Heero. Zechs and I found Scott in the forest behind the orphanage with three bullets in him. Zechs had to kill him to end the pain he would have suffered for hours."
With a sharp gasp, Sally covered her mouth. "Dear Allah," Quatre managed. "He came to us for help and they got to him in the end, after all." Closing his eyes, he said a silent prayer for the young man.
Silently reeling from the news, and as upsetting as learning of Scott's demise was, Duo was on the verge of panic in wondering what that meant for his lover. Tears filling his eyes, he asked, "What about Angie? Someone has to know what happened to Heero."
Zechs sighed deeply before raising his head and replying, "Scott told us that Angie was the one that shot him." The three faces watching fell with disbelief as the pilots froze. Duo fell back a few steps, his knees weakening as he stood. "Once Scott was out of the way, she took Heero during her escape."
Shaking his head, Duo whispered, "No." The tears in his violet eyes grew as he shouted, "No!" Just as his legs began to give out, Zechs and Quatre both seemed to materialize as they kept him from collapsing to the ground with their arms under his own.
Her fingers burying themselves in her hair, Sally's widened eyes widened as far as they could as she realized aloud, "My God. If Angie is working for White Out, she would have revealed the location of the safe house."
Quatre gasped sharply, his own eyes growing, as he shouted, "Relena! Anna!" While supporting his friend, the Arab turned to the others pleadingly. "We have to get back there!" he cried, desperately trying to keep his own head while comforting Duo's crumbling composure.
Nodding firmly, Zechs's free hand turned the braided pilot's face until their eyes met. With a deep breath, he said calmly but firmly, "Duo, with Rachel and that chip that we'll have from her, we'll have a chance at getting Heero back and I swear to you that we will."
The American's lip trembled as he whimpered, tears running down his face. With a deep frown of concern, the tall man stated, "But, Relena and Anna are in danger as well and we know where they are right now. Before we came here, Noin and I tried to call them, but the phone line had been cut. We have to get back to the safe house before something happens, if we're not already too late."
Swallowing hard, Duo could only nod his agreement, knowing that Heero would never have wanted him to sacrifice Relena or Anna in that situation. Still, it didn't make the decision any easier on him. With a sigh of relief, Zechs whispered, "Thank you." Looking up to the others, he yelled, "Let's go!" Without another word, the small team scrambled to the black car that was left waiting for them.
All but falling into the back seat, Duo sat between Sally and Quatre, all feeling gone from his body as he was lost in his dark thoughts and fears. Even in his own grip of worry for his lover and their baby, the Arab took one of the stunned pilot's hands into his own to squeeze it. Sally took up the American's other hand in a tight grasp. Staring out into nothing, unaware of the tears falling from his empty eyes, Duo was only vaguely aware of their presence.
Noin removed her small radio from her shoulder and all but shouted over the transmitter, "Wufei, there has been a change in plans and we are leaving the orphanage and heading back to the safe house immediately!"
Blinking in surprise at the announcement, both Wufei and Trowa looked to the radio on the Chinese pilot's right shoulder. Reaching over with a free hand from the steering wheel, the dark-haired Preventer asked, "Change in plans? What's wrong?"
"Angie's been working against us all this time," Noin replied. The two Preventers straightened, their eyes widened in disbelief. Sitting in Trowa's lap, Rachel looked from one stunned face to the other, confusion all over her face. "She killed Scott and managed to escape the scene with Heero."
Unable to breathe, Trowa whispered brokenly, "Anna." Shaking his head, he frowned deeply, "My God, we left her and Relena behind because we thought that the estate was the safest place for them, only for this to happen!"
With his dark eyes on the road but his thoughts a million worlds away as he frantically tried to make sense out of the madness of it all, Wufei took the radio from his shoulder and announced, "We'll only be a few minutes behind you, knowing that we'll be using the major roads and highways. Has anyone tried calling the safe house?"
There was a brief pause before Noin answered simply, "Yes." The graveness of the situation became all the more clear at her lack of elaborating on how successful, or unsuccessful that attempt had been.
Licking his lips, the Chinese pilot responded flatly, "I see." His mind reeling from one bad scenario to another, his thoughts returned to Heero's capture. With a frown of concern, he asked, "How is Duo holding up?"
At that, Noin peered over her shoulder to assess the braided pilot. Still frozen in shock, Duo made no response to anything going on around him. Swallowing hard, the young woman looked ahead again and answered honestly, "Not well."
There was a deep sigh over the transmitter. "With all the shit that he's been through, this is the last damn thing that he needs," Wufei commented quietly. After a brief silence, the Chinese pilot stated, "We'll rendezvous at the safe house, then."
With a firm nod, the short-haired pilot replied, "Right. Agent Fire out." Lowering the transmitter, Noin fell back in her seat as she peered out the window. Slowly looking over to her husband, she found his hand gripping onto the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white.
Reaching over, she gently her hand onto his. "I know that you're worried," Noin whispered, hoping that somehow she could make his voice reassuring enough despite her own worries. "But we'll get to Relena in time."
With a deep breath, Zechs swallowed hard and peered out the corner of his eyes. Easing his hand from the wheel to grip his wife's, he replied sincerely, "Thank you." Noin bit her lip when their hands let go so that the blonde Preventer could focus on driving. The remainder of the ride was made without another word spoken by anyone.
In the other car, Latin pilot's arms tightened around Rachel as he peered out the passenger door window. Looking up with a concerned frown, the little girl asked quietly, "Are Anna and Miss Relena going to be all right?"
Trowa's green eyes blinked in surprise at the question as he looked down to the child in his lap. His mouth opening and closing, he was unable to find his voice-or the right words- to give an answer. How was he supposed to reassure her when he was finding it difficult to keep from falling into his own fears of the worst?
Wufei came to his friend's aid when he turned his head to face them and smiled reassuringly, "Of course they will be. You know, Anna was hit by a truck on our last mission and she still came back to save my life."
Her brown eyes widening, Rachel breathed, "Really? She did that, Mister Wufei?"
Chuckling deeply, the dark-haired pilot winked, "Just call me Wufei. And yes, she did." His gaze looking up to meet his friend's gaze, he said sincerely, "Anna's one of the toughest people that I've had the pleasure of knowing. She and Relena will be fine."
A small lump formed in Trowa's throat that he had to swallow away before meeting Rachel's eyes and nodding, "Wufei's right. You don't have anything to worry about." Their words certainly served their purpose in putting the child at ease. She smiled in relief and settled back into the tall Preventer's protective arms, pulling her teddy bear close.
Peering over at the other pilot, Wufei silently watched his friend to see how he was coping. When their eyes met, Trowa mouthed the word 'thanks.' The Chinese pilot smirked with a firm nod of understanding before looking over his shoulder.
Tim's gray eyes widened in fear at the fierce glare staring down at him. In a low, deep growl, Wufei warned, "For your sake, you better pray that I don't have to go back on my word to that little girl." Even with the gag in his mouth, he could see the fallen agent swallowing hard as he shrunk deeper into the seat he was lying in.
* * * * * *
Stepping on her bare toes, she stepped without making a sound in her descent. Her blue eyes narrowed, and shotgun at the ready, she scanned the ground level of the house. Falling back on her OZ training, the red-haired pilot focused her eyes in the dim moonlight and heightened every sense until they tingled in anticipation of knowing her surroundings.
The screams and hollers outside, along with the roar of car engines rounding the large estate had died down. From her experiences during the war, Anna knew that the behavior was nothing more than a scare tactic meant to draw their prey from hiding. Those same antics also gave away that their 'guests' would not be using the front door as a means of entering the house.
Only a few steps in her rounding the staircase, Anna stiffened at the sound of glass shattering in a distant room down the hall. Straining her ears, she could hear the shifting of glass as hands gripped the windowsill and the heavy fall of feet on tile floor. In the further distance, more glass shattered as more feet fell onto the carpet of the rooms being invaded.
Without balking, Anna stalked towards the sounds, down the dark hall. Her bare feet on the hard wood floor gave off no sound as she approached the kitchen, where the closest and original sounds of glass breaking were heard. As she approached, she watched the shadow slinking across the moonlit floor as the lone intruder approached the doorway.
Pressing her back to the wall by the doorpost, the Preventer held her breath as not to alert the approaching assailant. His steps sure in their heavy approach, the tall young man came close enough that Anna could smell the sharp hint of cologne in the last short breath that she drew.
Further down the hall, those who had also broken in were taking their sweet time, muttering to each other.
"First come first serve," a deep voice commented, the smirk clear in the tone. "Only a few of us will get to have our way with the ladies before we cut them." Her eyes narrowing further, the redhead ignored the remainder of the banter as she focused on her target drawing nearer to the kitchen doorway.
The lone young man was much taller than she was, but that didn't matter when he finally stepped past the doorframe with the barrel of her shotgun pointing against the side of his neck. He certainly had not expected the feeling of the cold metal pressed against his skin, the metallic click of a safety being removed. He simply froze stiff, his eyes wide and looking forward as he had been when he stepped into the open.
A dark smirk tugged at Anna's lips as she whispered, "Surprise." Without hesitating, she pulled the trigger, the force of the bullet ripping the tall intruder's neck into bloody shreds as he crumbled to the floor.
The sound of the shot echoed off the walls, ending the eerie silence for a brief moment. Everything went still as the last reverberations faded, even the cars outside screeched to a halt. Obviously, this was not a part of their plans. Somehow, it was clear in that deafening silence that the invaders knew that the shot was not from one of their own. Even the further down the hall made no move.
Her eyes narrowed, Anna straightened and shouted as loudly as her voice allowed, "That's a warning for the rest of you fuckers! I'm not afraid of a goddamned one of you and I. Will. Not go down quietly!"
Quickly, the red-haired pilot bent at her knees just as the intruders down the hall began to move. Gathering up thick blood from the corpse onto her free hand, she moved back towards the stairs, smearing the walls with her wet hands as she passed to leave a trail.
The sound of footsteps running up behind her filled the Preventer's ears. Turning up the stairs once more as she continued to smear blood on the white walls in her passing, Anna whispered to herself, "I hope to hell this works."
TBC...
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