Woke Up One Morning... Part 51
Pulling on my flight suit, I look over my shoulder to see that Heero is zippering his own closed. I smile in relief that he had managed to get into his gear without any problem. It's pretty safe to say he's perfectly healed up now. Though my leg is still giving me problems, I'm not fairing too bad, myself.
All I have in my mind right now is that patch of rolling hills just beyond a small, rustic city in Salina, Ecuador. In the enveloped packet of information provided to us earlier, images were included to reveal the area where one of Ivanov's bases is hidden.
Those shots have taken up most of my focus as I prepare myself for the attack that it about to take place in that area. [1]
Luckily, the weather in the southern providence is nothing like what I had faced less than a week ago in the Alps.
We're going to have clear skies and temperatures in the seventies in a stark difference for the mountainous hit. Frankly, I'll fly in any condition to get Ivanov. Hopefully, this will be the last day we'll have to worry about the bastard still being a threat.
Zippering up my suit, I turn and grin to my husband, "Ready?" A small smirk of anticipation on his face, he just nods firmly, grabs his helmet and weapons belt. Taking up my own gear, I follow as he leads the way out of the changing stall.
When we round the corner, we float into the hanger to find Howard and the Sweepers overseeing the last Taurus suits to have left the hanger.
I make a mental note to the empty half of the massive room where a large pack of suits varying from Virgos, Leos, Pisces, Aries and Scorpios are now going along with the teams piloting them. Each mobile suit was chosen to be of the best use depending on the terrain of where they were heading.
For our team, there are so many rugged hills in our area of interest that an aerial attack is the best course of action. And so, we need the agility and flight maneuvering of the Taurus suits.
Howard stops looking over his check sheet when he spots the two of us nearing.
Grinning, he hooks his clipboard under his arm and greets, "Well, boys, your team is the last to leave. I'll be in the control tower waiting for your word to open the hatch doors since you're both the ones in charge of this group."
Wufei, Trowa, Zechs, Noin and Tyce were each the headliners of their own teams that had been filtering out over the last hour. Quatre is off with the emergency evacuation crews to oversee the fighters.
So that would leave 'Ro and the backup support that will be watching after us.
I give a startled cry when the old man gives a smart tug on my floating braid without warning. "What the hell was that for?" I frown deeply while rubbing the base of my head that's smarting pretty good from the yank.
His brow creasing in a glare that he shoots from behind his shades, Howard folds his arms and replies, "A fair warning to not give an old man a heart attack the way you almost did on your last mission."
Biting his bottom lip, Heero snickers in amusement that has me narrowing my eyes on him. He only chokes back more laughter in response.
With a deep sigh, I turn back towards my friend and grin, "Don't worry, Howie. No near-death experiences if I can help it, I promise."
That seems to satisfy him as he smirks, "Alright. Good luck to the both of you, then." Quickly spinning away from us, he pushes himself off of the floor to head for the control tower in the center of the room along with the Sweepers that have been lingering around.
As Heero and I throw our helmets on, we're joined by Ryan Jacobs, Andrea Khunke and Chad Powers- all from the last team that I had worked with during the hit on the lab in the Alps. And the three of them look as ready for this attack as we are while they lock on their own helmets.
Ryan, in particular, looks about ready to spit nails with good reason over losing his two best friends after the last couple weeks. "Ready to board when you are," he grits through his teeth. Oh, I certainly wouldn't want to be Ivanov- or anywhere near him for that matter- if he were to ever run into Jacobson right about now.
Taking that as his cue to call the shots, my partner nods, "Good. Let's move, then. By the time we reach Salina, we should be close to the time to strike as the other teams get into their positions. And keep in mind that we are to go into this hideout to search for Ivanov to bring him in. This is not a complete take-out mission."
Affirmatives given, the trio turns towards their own Taurus suits and climb into their cockpits.
Danielle, Sally and a small team of medics enter the hanger and pass us on the way to the transport shuttle waiting in the wings. Pausing just before us, the little pilot grins behind the glass of her helmet, "We'll only be minutes away from wherever you are so that we can move in if you need us."
Nice to have favorable enough conditions that we can have that safety blanket over us.
As the last to board our crafts, I grab 'Ro's hand to squeeze it and share a brief smile with him before heading into my Taurus.
Locking myself in, I close the cockpit hatch and start revving the beast up. Not long after my screens are up and running, I hear my husband announce, "Howard, open the hatch."
* * * * * *
The flight into the Earth's atmosphere was as smooth as the last I had made. Staying high to keep out of the range for radar scans, yet low enough to not need our helmets, we all wait together anxiously for the time to strike.
Far below us, I can make out the patch-work of different shades of green and brown just along the coastline where Salinas would be and my heart begins to pound in my chest.
"We are go," Heero suddenly transmits. "I repeat, we are go to attack."
And that's all I needed to hear before I slam down on my handgrips to shoot down from the skies along with the rest of my team. Letting out a loud cry as the ground comes closer, my scanner picks up on a blip that has the Taurus sensors concerned. I move my suit up a hair just in time to avoid a laser fired at me.
Not only did the shooter fail to hit me, but they gave away their location that my suit has now picked up on. Thankfully, it's a large, castle-like estate hidden in the green hills far from any city where innocents could be hurt.
"There you are!" I cry while taking aim and firing back.
With the others right on my tail, they let their own hail of gunfire loose on the white palace. As we get even closer, can see dozens of men running in the courtyard to control the laser rifles lining the perimeter of the area. Hell of a swarm of them to have to take care of, but we don't hesitate to move in for a second.
Making one deep swoop and pulling up at the last second, I continue to fire on the resisting guards and take out several vehicles and gun stations in the process. My teammates follow along and do the same to cover any ground I had missed.
At the first opening in the courtyard, I land my suit and open the cockpit. Only a small handful of guards remain to give trouble. On foot with pistols in hand, they run up and are quickly brought down as soon as they are in range of me. All around, most of the men are trying to make their getaway.
Jumping from their Taurus suits, Ryan, Andres and Chad work well together at stopping anyone trying to escape.
Meanwhile, Heero charges on past me with a shouted, "Come on!" Running right behind him, I manage to ignore the discomfort in my leg while keeping up with his swift pace as we reach the three-story tall building at the center of the yard.
Once inside, we carefully search every room on ever floor, arms stretched out with our pistols ahead of us. To both of our great surprise, there are very few guards around... only one here and one there that we bring down with a non-fatal shot before we tie them up to keep them out of trouble.
Slowly making our way to the third floor, we each split off to search the rooms at either end of the hall. Much to my dismay, the floor is ever bit as empty as the rest of the estate.
My heart begins to sink at the realization that Ivanov is not here after all. There is no way he would have stayed in this place with such a lack of protection.
At the last closed room to search, I wipe my damp brow and my arms sag heavily to my sides in defeat.
Reaching for the doorknob to turn it, I frown at my husband who is still as tense as he was when we entered the building. "Looks like the bastard is ten steps ahead of us again," I sigh while pushing the door open to reveal a grand, red-carpeted office.
Across the room just ahead of us, seated behind an ornate oak desk is none other than Sergey Ivanov.
I've stared at his mug shots and satellite images for so long now that I recognize him in a heartbeat, though my heart is at a standstill at the moment over the shock of actually seeing him here.
Broad shoulders and a muscular build. Strong Russian facial features and thinning dark hair. Even the smug smirk that's on the man's face are the same as every picture that we have on him in Preventer records.
The second that I can breathe again my arms are stretched out ahead of me with my weapon again. Heero hasn't moved so much as an inch as he focuses his own pistol on the man behind the desk.
Unarmed and dressed casually in a deep green top, Ivanov bows his head and speaks with the strong accent of his descent, "Gentlemen. I have been expecting you." Amazingly, his tone is actually one of politeness.
Still, neither Heero nor I lower our guns and our glares only become more fiery on our target.
Chuckling, Sergey shakes his head, "I commend you and the Preventers on your search. Because of your vigilance to find me, I no longer have anywhere I can hide for long before someone will recognize me. My own people are threatening to turn because so many of the people that I have done business with have been taken in."
His head tilting, he shrugs, "And I simply am too old and tired to run forever. Our little game was going to come to an end at some point."
"Game?!" I snap, shouting in rage as my face starts to burn. "You think that the things you've done were nothing more than part of some game?! You killed hundreds of people! Destroyed our headquarters and the Assembly meeting hall, both the structures for peace and hope after the wars we've been through!"
When the son of a bitch actually as the nerve to laugh, I can feel my finger pulling back on the trigger. "Easy, Duo," 'Ro's voice quietly urges beside me.
Ivanov shakes his head and snickers, "Oh, my dear lad, you are sadly mistaken. Yes, I was responsible for the attack on your headquarters to give myself a little more time ahead in the chase. However, the hit on the Assembly was none of my doing."
Blinking in shock over that, I keep my finger still.
Slowly leaning forward, he smirks, "I would have handled it all very differently if I was the one who had planned it. The traces of that Glycaminum would never have been traced and I never would have remained an unknown to your organization."
All of a sudden, because he is leaning closer towards us, I notice that his skin almost seems to be paling and his forehead is beading with sweat. Something is not right... somehow I don't believe that his nerves are suddenly catching up.
Before I can really dwell on that, Sergey leans back in his leather chair and spins it to the side a bit to peer out of the large French windows overlooking the rolling hills in the distance. The slight moment has Heero and I both jumping a bit, moving into the room another step but not about to shoot just yet.
"Do you want to know why I chose Ecuador as the location for my primary base?" he asks while clearly not expecting us to respond. With another shrug, he states, "Ecuador earned its name for being right on the equator of the earth... its center. Just as I had planned on becoming the center of the world before that idiot went and ruined it all."
Speaking up, my husband demands curtly, "Where are your other guards? You would have to have kept more here than what we ran into." Clearly, he is thinking along with me that this is all too easy.
Ivanov peers at of from the corner of his dark eye and smiles, "I had no need for a lot of security this day." Groaning all of a sudden, he bends in half and wheezes, "Only enough to give me enough time to see that you do not have the satisfaction of taking me."
Oh, fuck!
Dropping my weapon along with Heero, we spring forward just as the man we have been after for months collapses forward into the floor. Poison. The bastard took poison to keep us from getting the justice we've been looking for.
It would be his own way of winning his little game in the end.
Eyes rolling back in his head as he shakes violently in convulsions, Ivanov gasps for air as I fall to my knees, sliding to his side. Tearing at his collar to keep it from constricting his airway, he cry, "No, no, no! You're not getting away that easily, you son of a bitch!"
Frantically reaching for his belt, my partner removes his radio to press the 'Send' key and yells into it, "Danielle, get Sally and her crew down into the courtyard now! We don't have a lot of time to work with here."
Taking up the small bottle that rolled away from Sergey's hand, he reads the label and announces, "Ivanov's taken a dose of cyanide!"
All but throwing the radio aside, Heero moves to throw Sergey over his shoulder and rushes out the door. I follow behind as closely as I can with my leg beginning to throb after I hit my knees so roughly. I know my braces leg is going to kill me when the adrenaline wears off after all of this, but I'm really not feeling much pain right now.
By the time we reach the first floor, I can already hear the engines of the transport shuttle roaring into the open yard just outside. Hurrying through the estate front doors, we catch Sally bursting from the ship as soon as it touches down.
With a filled syringe in her hand, she runs up and plunges it into the arm of the man shaking over 'Ro's shoulder. The convulsions slow down a bit... enough for me to breathe a little easier for the moment.
Panting, Sal meets our eyes and tells us, "That hydroxocobalamin should keep him stable long enough for us to get back to Peacemillion where I can treat him properly. But we have to hurry." [2]
Not needing to be told twice, we hurry for the transport together.
From where they stand before the captured guards that they have sitting on the ground with their wrists tightly bound together, Ryan, Andrea and Chad watch on with wide eyes. Calling over to us, Jacobs reassures, "We'll clean things up here. Do what you have to do to keep that bastard alive."
Smirking at that, I give him a firm nod before we step into the shuttle. Quickly strapping Ivanov into the medical bed in the back, 'Ro steps aside so that Sally and the two staff members she brought with her can look after the prisoner.
The doors to the shuttle automatically close and we're airlifted as Heero and I strap ourselves into our conjoined seats. Ever the brilliant pilot, Danielle gets us up to max speed in no time to jet us out into space as fast as the shuttle can carry us.
On our way out of the Earth's atmosphere, we catch sight of a backup team in Taurus suits heading down to aid the others in the clean up and I can breathe a sigh of relief that the rest of our team will be alright now.
I peer over my shoulder to gaze down the aisle towards the back. "How is it looking so far there, Sal?"
Glancing back at me, she grins, "We had a close call and we're still not out of the woods yet. But I'm not about to let him slip away from us."
Really, that's all that I need to hear from her to know that we weren't too late to deny Sergey his escape.
When I look down at my hands in my lap, I realize that they're shaking. Apparently, my nerves are more shot than I realized after that ordeal.
A small smile on his face, Heero reaches over to take my hands in his and squeezes them tightly. Reaching them up to kiss the back of my palms, he whispers to me, "It's almost over, Duo."
The optimal word is 'almost' with one nagging thought running through my head. We haven't won the war just yet...
...but this was one hell of a battle to win.
TBC...
[1] This image of Salinas is what I am using as my point of reference to where the base is hidden: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-photo/itsgotime/the_trip/1189635240/g-salinas.jpg/tpod.html
[2] Hydroxocobalamin is actually a known, researched antidote to cyanide. Here is a site I researched on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxocobalamin
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