Boot Camp Part 46
The Mission
It was late afternoon when the boys from Team Wing estimated they were within a mile of their destination. At that point, they stashed their excess gear, donned their laser vests, checked their weapons, and reviewed their plan.
To start with, they would scout the area around the camp, trying to get close enough to observe the soldiers guarding the shack. It fell to Duo and Trowa to approach the closest, while Heero would keep his distance and memorize the guards' routine, and Quatre would study their patrol patterns for weaknesses.
"We'll rendezvous back here two hours after dark," Heero told his teammates. "We'll compare notes, and finalize our plan, though for the moment, it's to avoid booby traps, distract and disable the patrols, and then tackle whatever final obstacle Wufei has prepared inside the shack." His sharp eyes studied each of their faces. "If anyone comes up with a better plan, we won't hesitate to implement it. Any questions?"
Three heads shook in response, and Heero nodded, turning to leave. But as he did, Duo caught his arm, spinning him back around to plant a firm, brief kiss on his lips. "For luck, 01," whispered the braided boy.
Heero smirked in response. "Watch your back, 02."
"Always."
All four boys scattered into the thick underbrush, each knowing his assigned task, and ready to complete it.
~*~
Trowa's job entailed getting close enough to the camp to watch the soldiers for indications of where trip wires and mines might be located. It stood to reason the men wouldn't walk on their own traps, and therefore whichever path they did follow could be assumed safe.
The former circus acrobat took to the trees to accomplish his goal. Climbing nimbly up to a point high enough for observation, he made his way along slender limbs as if he were walking a tightrope. Thus he was able to get very close to the mining shack without having to worry about trip wires or snares.
~*~
Duo, on the other hand, was skulking through thick underbrush, melting into the shadows and moving so stealthily that not a leaf rustled or twig snapped to give away his position. But because he took the "low road" as he put it, he had to constantly watch for booby traps.
He was a good hundred yards from the camp when he found the first one...a nearly invisible wire strung low across the trail, one end attached to a laser grenade that would take out anyone foolish enough to blunder through. Smirking darkly, the braided boy set about disarming the trap, so as to clear the way for their later infiltration.
~*~
While Duo was carrying out his stealth assignment, Heero had achieved his own objective, and was stretched out on a tree branch watching the flow of guards around the mining shack. His uncannily accurate memory enabled him to mentally keep track of each sentry's timing and movements. But he was even more interested in Wufei's whereabouts, knowing the Chinese officer would take a personal role in this exercise.
His patience was rewarded just at dusk, when he saw the slim, dark-haired man open the door and call his troops inside for a report.
Heero counted heads as they went in, wishing he could get close enough for some eavesdropping, but knowing it would be too risky until his teammates shared their knowledge of the traps and pitfalls surrounding the clearing. So instead, he waited, watching a faint curl of smoke from the stove pipe that stuck out of the roof of the shack. Trust Wufei to be curled up nice and warm in a heated building while his hapless recruits slept outside on a cold mountain night. The Chinese officer was nothing if not smart.
Then the door opened, and the soldiers walked back out. Five minutes...the men were inside almost exactly five minutes. Heero smiled to himself in satisfaction; Wufei wasn't expecting them yet, or he'd never have pulled all his men inside at once. That could only mean that the time they'd saved by taking the risky shortcut had paid off. Or at least, it had if they could act quickly enough.
The team leader did a quick calculation in his head, estimating that between the cliff shortcut and the easy river crossing they'd saved close to twelve hours. So Chang wouldn't be expecting them to approach the shack before morning, at the very earliest. Perfect!
~*~
Quatre took a keen interest in how Wufei's troops were deployed, but an even keener interest in the five-minute meeting. So he stayed at his observation point long enough to see the action repeated an hour later. And he lingered even longer to make sure it happened again at the same interval. Then, with a broad smile, the team's tactician headed for the rendezvous with a slightly crazy plan in mind.
~*~
Heero and Quatre arrived back at their base camp simultaneously, each stepping cautiously out of the trees, watching in case Chang had long-distance patrols out scouting for them. But there was no sign of any foot patrol this far from the soldiers' base of operation, and the darkness was so complete it was unlikely their camp could be discovered anyway.
"Heh...I don't think he expected us this soon," Heero said rather smugly, walking up to Quatre. "Knowing Chang, he'll be sending men out further from the mining shack to intercept and ambush anyone approaching. It's only the fact that we're so far ahead of schedule that's allowed us to get this close without encountering anyone."
Quatre nodded in agreement. "Sounds reasonable. He's saving his men until he feels there'll be a viable threat." His innocent blue eyes turned slightly mischievous. "Silly man."
Heero chuckled, but then turned at the sound of a low whistle. Trowa dropped out of a tree at the edge of the clearing, and sauntered in.
"Not bad, Barton," Heero commented, glancing up at the forest canopy. "Good idea traveling overhead."
"People rarely look up," Trowa replied with a smirk.
"--as any good second-story man knows," came Duo's voice from behind all three of them.
They whirled in alarm, Heero half-raising the laser gun in surprise, until he positively identified his teammate.
Duo melted out of the shadows, slipping his own laser gun into the back of his pants. "Miss me?" he asked with a sly grin.
"Had I pulled the trigger, I wouldn't have," Heero quipped back, holstering his own weapon. "Alright, let's have everyone's report, starting with you, 02."
Duo dropped the banter and became all business in a heartbeat. "Okay, here's the scoop. Judging from the number and placement of booby traps, Chang isn't going heavy on long-range patrols. But he did leave an 'out.' There's one crappy little game trail that had no trip wires at all...probably to allow one or two man teams out to scout beyond the perimeter." Duo held up a roll of wire he'd gathered from disarming the aforementioned pitfalls. "Of course, even the booby trapped trails are a lot less dangerous than they were," he shrugged. "But we can't be careless...I could've missed one or two." His indigo eyes took on a feral gleam. "I might even have relocated a couple...just to give the sentries a few surprises of their own."
His teammates chuckled at his evil grin.
"How many soldiers did you count?" Heero prompted.
"Twelve, not including Chang."
Heero turned his gaze to Trowa. "Well, 03. How many did you observe?"
"Twelve."
"And how were they positioned?"
"He's got four of them that never leave the immediate vicinity of the shack, and eight that conduct foot patrols. The patrols work in pairs, and I noticed they avoid the main trail like poison...must've booby trapped the hell out of it."
Duo chuckled darkly. "They did."
"How much of it were you able to disarm?" Heero asked.
"I got within a hundred feet of the shack, but then they were too close. I didn't want to blow our big lead by being seen."
The team leader nodded his approval. "Alright...what can you add about their defenses, 04?"
Quatre shrugged slightly. "Fairly standard formations and patterns...except for one thing."
All eyes turned to him, and finally Duo blurted out what was on their minds. "You saw a weakness, right? Spill it, already, Quat!"
"Captain Chang has hourly meetings. I watched twelve soldiers go in and twelve come out each time. They were in there a full five minutes."
Duo scowled at that. "What's Chang thinking? He can't possibly pull his patrols all at once and expect to maintain security."
"He's not," Heero said firmly. "I think we're so far ahead of schedule that Chang hasn't put his troops on alert yet. They're just killing time and practicing."
"For how long?" Trowa asked speculatively.
The Japanese boy shook his head. "Hard to say. But if Chang figures we'll be somewhat ahead of schedule, he'll probably have his defenses up to full speed by dawn."
"So we move before then, right?" Duo guessed eagerly.
"I think we should," Heero agreed.
Quatre cleared his throat pointedly, and his teammates looked his way again. Faced with three sets of piercing eyes, he faltered slightly.
"C'mon, 04," Duo prompted him. "I can see by the gleam in those baby blues that you've got something in mind."
"Well...I know our preliminary plan was to use the pepper 'bombs' as a distraction while we disable the soldiers," he said slowly. "But that plan involves a lot of uncertainty. I mean, what if it doesn't work as well as we hope? What if the pepper blows back at us? And what if--?"
"Just cut to the chase!" Duo urged.
Quatre eyed him patiently. "Have you ever tried to exterminate rats?"
The braided boy snorted at that. "Fuck, Quat! I lived with 'em. Sometimes I even ate 'em. Exterminating them was never an option."
The blonde winced slightly. "Oh yeah. You probably aren't the best person to use that analogy with." He gave a wan smile. "Anyhow, if you want to exterminate rats, the best way is to get them all at once."
"--when they're in the shack," Trowa added, nodding in comprehension.
"Exactly."
"You want us to surround the shack while they're having their meeting?" Duo asked, frowning. "That's four against thirteen. Not good odds even if we do get the drop on them."
"On top of which," Heero added. "Chang's staying in the shack, so I'm guessing he's the final obstacle." He shook his head. "I'm not as concerned about the soldiers as I am about Chang."
Quatre was shaking his head too. "No, no...there's more to the plan than just cornering them in the shack," he assured his teammates. "Quite a bit more."
~*~
Wufei was sitting at a small table inside the little mining shack, going over his perimeter defense plan one last time. At first light he'd be sending out long-range patrols to watch for the approaching teams. Not that he expected any of them much before noon of the next day, but knowing Yuy's approach to missions, he had to consider the possibility of Team Wing's arriving earlier.
The Chinese officer had resisted the impulse to use the GPS feature of the anklets to pinpoint each team's location. In fact, he'd left the tracking unit back at Camp Peacecraft to prevent just such temptation. Much as he'd like to watch their progress, he felt it would be unfair to do so. But he had no doubt Major Merquise was keeping a close eye on it, eager to collect on his wager.
Wufei grimaced at the thought. Why had he made such a silly bet anyway? Once again, the higher-ranking officer had wagered a dinner date; only this time he'd actually called it a 'date.' And when Wufei asked about the rules concerning fraternization, the handsome man had merely laughed and assured him that the sight of two comrades-in-arms having dinner would raise no eyebrows. He'd also insisted that it was no more than it seemed...a chance for them to enjoy one another's company and talk about things outside of the Corps.
But Wufei couldn't simply dismiss the invitation--er--wager as a casual get-together. He got the distinct impression his mentor had a romantic interest in him. And although Zechs had promised to be a perfect gentleman, there was a great deal of risk inherent in socializing with a superior officer. Not that Wufei didn't enjoy Merquise's company; they'd spent many hours training together, and were extremely compatible in temperament. Both were warriors at heart, and took great pride in excelling. But Wufei had never even looked at Zechs Merquise as a potential romantic interest. He'd never looked at another man that way at all...and he wasn't even slightly sure if he wanted to.
The Chinese officer pushed away from the table with a curse, standing up and pacing across the little shack. Then, deciding he needed to clear and calm his mind, he resolved to spend the next half-hour meditating. Perhaps that way he'd be more focused and alert when it came time for the hourly briefing.
Crossing to his bunk, Wufei settled onto the lumpy mattress, crossing his legs, closing his eyes, and letting his mind slowly clear of all its troubling thoughts.
~*~
"Have you got everything?" Heero asked, his sharp gaze raking his teammates in one final assessing glance. It was sometime after midnight, and the four boys had completed their planning and preparations.
Duo patted his pockets. "Vest, weapon, pepper bombs, canteen and towel."
Trowa touched a coil of rope slung diagonally across his torso. "Vest, weapon, rope, knife."
"04?"
"Vest, weapon, laser grenade, two full canteens, three bandannas."
Heero nodded. "And I've got my vest, weapon, bandanna, and laser grenade." He looked at each of his teammates in turn. "Any questions at all?"
"Yeah," Duo piped up, a slight smile touching his lips. "Got any plans for after the ambush, gorgeous?"
"Y'mean aside from fucking you senseless?" Heero quipped without batting an eye.
The braided boy gaped for a moment, glancing warily aside at Quatre and Trowa's knowing smirks, and then he laughed helplessly. "I should know better than to tease, Yuy!"
"But don't stop," shrugged the team leader, checking his pockets one last time. Then, taking a deep breath, he donned his soldier persona again. "Let's move out," he ordered, striding confidently out of the clearing.
Duo and Trowa went as a team, with the former leading the way unerringly around potential hazards. When they neared the mining shack, and would have entered territory Duo hadn't cleared of traps, Trowa took over, climbing a tree and pulling Duo after. They made their way along the branches until they were within fifty feet of the shack, and then waited for their signal.
Heero and Quatre took the ground route Duo had mapped out for them, using the narrow game trail he'd pronounced safe. When they neared the mining shack, they too went to ground, leaving a good fifty feet of space between them so that even if one got caught, the other wouldn't.
And so, they waited.
And nearly an hour later, their patience was rewarded when the door of the cabin opened, leaving Captain Chang silhouetted against a rectangle of light.
One by one, his soldiers moved through as the boys from Team Wing counted...and they came up one short.
"Fuck!" Heero hissed under his breath, his gaze darting around the clearing, trying to pierce the total darkness. It wasn't possible that they'd miscounted--so either one soldier had left for some reason, or one was still lurking as a sentry.
Quatre's blonde head rose slightly from the leaf-strewn ground, and turned Heero's way, but it was too dark out for exchanging hand gestures. So the boy from L4 started crawling towards the team leader to confer with him about whether to switch to Plan B, which had been their original approach.
When Quatre was halfway to him, Heero heard the sound of footsteps crunching across the ground, and he waved once in warning, diving low in the bushes. His teammate did the same, taking cover under a thick stand of ferns, and pressing himself to the ground, freezing into total immobility.
The soldier who came stalking up from the trail nearly stepped on Quatre's hand, which was extended out in front of him, burrowed slightly into the thick carpet of leaves. In fact, the heel of a boot actually stomped one fingertip into the spongy forest floor. And then the man was past, and jogging up to the shack.
"Sorry I'm late, sir! Patrolled a little further out than I thought in the dark!"
"Sloppy work Lareau!" barked Wufei, gesturing the man inside and then closing the door behind them.
Heero pushed up from the ground, breathing a sigh of relief. He glanced at Quatre, who was now only twenty-five feet away, ruefully rubbing a bruised finger.
"04!" His voice was hushed and urgent.
"Ready!" came the sharp, soft hiss.
Heero looked up into the dark treetops where their teammates waited, and then struck a match, holding it up for a count of three before blowing it out. Waiting in the cool dirt for another thirty-count, he then pushed himself up onto his feet and sprinted silently across the clearing towards the shack, closely followed by Quatre.
Meanwhile, having seen the flicker of light, Duo and Trowa darted out to a branch as close to the shack as they could find, and quickly tied off a line. Then Duo climbed down it, and Trowa swung him back and forth until he could release the rope and sail through the air to drop lightly onto the roof.
Knowing he had only seconds if the men inside had heard the telltale thud, Duo ran to kneel beside the smoking stove pipe. He pulled out the towel, dousing it with water from the canteen, knowing that before he was done, Trowa would have swung over as well, and would be at his side.
The circus performer grabbed the towel from him, continuing to pour liquid on it, while Duo pulled several small packets of cayenne pepper and incendiary powder out of his pocket. Then the braided boy stuffed the mini bombs down the stove pipe, and his partner wound the soggy towel over and around it to block off the circulation.
There was a muffled 'boom' from below the two boys, and then the sound of cursing and shouting.
Quatre was waiting beside the door of the shack as the soldiers poured out, coughing and swearing, accompanied by a swirling cloud of pungent smoke. "Face down on the ground!" he snapped out sharply, trying to conduct a head count by the faint light coming out the door.
Trowa and Duo dropped down beside him, having hastily made their way across the roof when they heard the detonation and ensuing panic.
"03--get those six covered!" Quatre ordered quickly. "02--stay back and cover us all--and here, have this ready just in case." He tossed his laser grenade to the braided boy.
Trowa aimed his laser weapon at some of the men who were grudgingly getting down onto the ground, still gasping for breath and trying to wipe the tears from their eyes, while Duo backed to the corner of the shack, holding the grenade ready. If their captives tried anything, they'd at least have the satisfaction of taking them along.
Quatre had finished counting and recounting, and he came up one short. "Shit!" he ground out in panic. "Where's Chang?"
"Right here," came a quiet voice, and Captain Chang's laser gun came to rest against the back of Duo's head.
"Ah, fuck!" said the braided boy in complete disgust.
"I'd suggest, boys, that you throw down your weapons and surrender." Wufei was using Duo as a human shield, his dark eyes trained on the others. "Uh, except you, Maxwell. Keep a tight grip on that grenade or we'll all be neutralized, and the next team can walk right in and claim your prize."
"At least you'd lose with us," Duo suggested coolly. He tilted his head so he could glance at the officer out of the corner of an eye. "How'd you get behind us anyway?"
"I went out a window as soon as the smoke came bursting out of the stove." Wufei replied. "And what the hell did you use?"
"Cayenne pepper and incendiary powder," Duo shrugged. He dared another glance at the officer, and then slightly past him. "Worked, too," he smirked.
"Almost."
"Oh, I'd say it worked perfectly," came another voice, and the Captain felt cold steel against the back of his neck.
"Yuy," he spat in disgust.
"Chang. Drop the gun."
"Careful. You could lose a teammate," cautioned the Chinese man.
"Yes, but I already got the flag." Heero held up the banner Wufei had left behind in his haste to escape the cloud of smoke.
"How?"
"Wet bandanna over the nose and mouth," shrugged the team leader. "I went in the window you came out of, grabbed the flag, and got out...just in time to stop you."
"But I got the drop on one of your troops," countered the officer.
"More or less," came the complacent reply. "He's still got the laser grenade," Heero reminded him. "You neutralize him, and he'll drop it, taking you out as well."
Chang shrugged. "So we'd all lose."
"What a suicidal outlook," Duo commented lightly.
"If you can't beat an enemy, take him with you," countered the officer.
Trowa finally decided the trio at the corner of the shack had wasted enough time, and without preamble, he fired his laser at Captain Chang's vest, causing a loud beep as it registered the hit, and then a split-second delay before it logged him as "deceased" and deactivated his weapon. Even if he'd tried to fire at that point, he couldn't.
Stunned gazes turned to the boy from L3. "What?" he demanded impatiently. "You three were debating the issue for so long; I just decided to move things along."
"But you 'killed' Chang!" Duo protested.
"Guess that makes you an orphan again," Trowa said with a shrug, walking down the line of soldiers and confiscating their weapons.
Heero began chuckling quietly behind Wufei.
"This isn't funny, Yuy."
"Depends on your point of view," replied the Japanese boy unrepentantly. "02--help 04 and 03 with the prisoners."
Duo joined Quatre and Trowa, giving the defeated soldiers a couple of canteens and the bandannas, so they could rinse their eyes and faces to negate the irritating effect of the pepper.
Wufei turned around to face Heero, glowering darkly. "That was some pretty unorthodox strategy, Yuy."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
The Chinese officer snorted derisively. "You would."
"As I recall, you want creative thinkers in your Mobile Suit Corps," commented the Japanese boy, smirking at his longtime friend.
"Yes, but..." Wufei finally shrugged and smiled ruefully. "You just cost me a wager against Merquise."
"Gambling's a vice," Duo announced, walking over to join them. "I should know, being an expert on the subject."
"What subject? Gambling?" asked Wufei.
"Vice," Duo replied with a smirk. He ignored the officer's dark glare and saluted Heero. "Prisoners secured, 01. Anything else, fearless leader?"
Heero looked at Wufei, raising an eyebrow curiously. "Is the operation considered complete, sir?"
The Chinese man nodded. "I'd say it is. We'll review the details back at camp. Meanwhile, you four may as well help us clean out the cabin and make it habitable for the night. I'll call for transportation at first light so we don't have to walk all the way back to Camp Peacecraft."
Duo bridled at the thought of cleaning. "Can't we make our 'prisoners' do the cleanup?" He belatedly remembered to add "--sir?"
Wufei grinned wickedly. "The moment the exercise ended, you boys became the prisoners again."
"Well, shit," muttered the braided boy, walking over to throw an arm across Quatre's shoulders. "C'mon, buddy. Most of the mess is your fault; you were the one who thought of smokin' 'em out."
"But you stole the--er--got the cayenne pepper," Quatre protested.
Duo darted a wary glance at Wufei, whose return look promised a lecture at some later date. "Yeah...way to go, Winner. Remind me not to ask you for an alibi--ever!"
They proceeded to help the soldiers air out the little cabin and tidy it up. Apparently their blind rush to exit had resulted in a number of overturned chairs and scattered belongings.
Less than an hour later, all was back in order, and everyone gathered in the shack to compare notes about the mission. The four boys from Team Wing had taken seats around a table and were telling Captain Chang how they'd managed to make such good time.
"Tell me again..." Wufei said with a frown. "Exactly which cliff did you climb?"
"The big one!" Duo said brightly, leaning over Wufei's shoulder in a way that made the reserved man nearly cringe at the invasion of his personal space.
Heero looked at the map Wufei had spread on the table. "Right there," he said, pointing. "Grid coordinates A-11."
"That's impossible," commented Lieutenant Wolfe, one of their survival instructors. "That'd be a tough climb for an experienced crew with top quality gear."
"It was," Trowa spoke up with quiet disdain. "Your army issue climbing gear nearly got Maxwell and me killed."
A look of alarm crossed Wufei's face. "What happened?"
Duo waved a hand nonchalantly, not wanting the uptight soldiers to curtail future activities because of a little risk-taking behavior. "Ah, my rope snagged on an outcropping and Tro' had to risk over-stressing his safety line by supporting my weight until Heero could drop a new line. Don't sweat it, though. We made it."
Wufei glanced questioningly at Heero, who shrugged noncommittally. "Would have been nice to have higher rated safety lines."
"I'll keep that in mind," replied the Captain. "So long as you keep in mind that this is just training. It's not worth risking lives, Yuy."
"It was worth it to see your face when Heero got the drop on you," Duo piped up smugly.
"Perhaps," conceded the Chinese man, seeing the glint of satisfaction in Heero's eyes. "Enjoying the taste of victory, Yuy?"
"You bet your ass...sir." Heero allowed a broad smile to cross his face. "I have got the best team in Camp Peacecraft, bar none. I've known that for a while, but I'm not sure my teammates did until today." His warm glance swept across the three boys gathered at the table.
Wufei's smile mirrored his own. "Well, they know it now, Yuy. And they deserve this victory; you all do." His grin turned slightly mischievous. "By the way, Heero, happy birthday."
Duo lifted a startled gaze to Heero. "It's your birthday? And you didn't tell us?"
Heero shrugged. "Technically, since I'm an orphan, I don't know my birthday. It was arbitrarily assigned to me by the agency that handled my case."
"But it's your birthday!" Duo objected. "You should've said something." He got up and walked around the table towards Heero, his indigo eyes troubled. "I didn't get you anything."
"Even if you knew, there was nothing you could do about it."
"I'd have figured something out."
"We won the competition," Heero said with a smile. "That's enough."
Duo was right next to him by then, still frowning slightly. "It's not enough. You deserve more." He reached rather timidly to put a hand on Heero's shoulder.
"I have you," shrugged the team leader, an amused glint in the deep blue eyes. "Right?" He slipped an arm around Duo's waist, pulling him in closer.
"Yeah," came the smirking reply. "Any time you want." His arm settled comfortably around Heero's shoulders, and he looked fondly down at the dark, tousled hair.
Wufei groaned aloud. "Boot camp's not over yet," he cautioned. "Can't you hormonal teens just restrain yourselves for a couple more weeks?"
"Weeks?" Duo echoed. "I don't think so, Chang."
"As your guardian, Maxwell, I think I have the right to decide whether or not you're old enough to date."
Duo blinked in disbelief, but then recovered, smirking slyly. "But Tro' said I was an orphan again."
"That was only in the competition. In reality, you're quite stuck with me." Wufei arched an eyebrow, giving the boy a smug, superior look.
"Oh really...dad?" Duo crossed his arms stubbornly.
"Absolutely...son." Wufei did the same.
The two glared daggers at each other.
TBC...
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