Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. I'm only using the
characters to create what I hope will be an interesting storyline. All
original characters are mine. This storyline is also copyright to
Starlight.
I hope you will find this interesting reading. It has taken me a while to get it started and I would like to thank Trevor_X1 for his input. He certainly was a great help when I had questions that needed another brain to help answer.
And for any of you that wondered, Xousia is a Greek word that means power, authority, force, mastery. You get the picture. :-) It is pronounced zoo- see-ah.
Oh, anything within these two characters represents thought. Example: They are so cute! Thanks for reading!
Silent Night
Chapter 1
By: Starlight
Preventer had for many years been under the iron management of Lady Une. Following her leadership the giant security organization had run like a well oiled machine. Their security knowledge was second to none. Though they had not replaced local law enforcement agencies they continued keeping an eye on global affairs and beyond into the star filled wonder of space.
Today though chaos reigned. The imposing building housing Preventer headquarters was filled with running, people shouting, and an occasional burst of gunfire. Not even the strong leadership of Lady Une could quell the confusion. Preventer was slowly but surely being overrun by a rogue faction called Xousia.
For months they had been keeping an eye on what appeared to be just another small rebellion. People unwilling to let the past die. Unfortunately that had only been a cover for what turned out to be a well planned attack.
Sally Po and Chang Wufei were engaged in holding off a batch of Xousia adherents while some computer technicians were hurriedly working on shutting down Preventer's computer network.
"This is really annoying." Sally muttered as she fired off a round and then stepped back to let Wufei take his turn.
"I know." Wufei spoke calmly. His shot told and one of their attackers fell. He winced slightly as he continued. "But it would never do to let Xousia into our computer system. Imagine what they would do with all that sensitive information."
"I know that." Sally's voice sounded strained. "How're you coming?" She glanced over her shoulder at the technicians.
"Give us ten more seconds.." The head tech responded working with feverish haste. "Come on, come on.." He muttered.
"And.. we've.. got it!" one of his partners spoke triumphantly as all the monitors went blank. "They won't get nothing now."
"Get moving then!" Sally ordered. The technicians headed through a security door on the other side of the room. "Let's get out of here!" Sally glanced at Wufei.
"Right behind you Major." Wufei gave a slight smile.
Sally turned to follow the technicians when she suddenly gave a cry and fell to the ground clutching her left side. Blood ran over her hands and pooled on the floor beneath her.
"SALLY!" Wufei dropped to his knee beside his stricken partner. He turned his gaze out the doorway and fired. His aim was deadly and another one fell.
"Go on Wufei, leave me." Sally spoke through clenched teeth. Already black spots swirled in front of her eyes and she felt she would pass out from the pain.
"Over my dead body." Wufei's eyes were hard. Very gently he picked up his partner and slung her over his shoulder. She groaned once as he strode through the security door, slamming it shut behind him just as the enemy soldiers ran into the room. He could hear them pounding on the door and shouting, but it wouldn't do them any good. Those security doors were meant to last just about anything.
Wufei paused long enough to bandage Sally's wound. Ignoring her protestations that she would walk he picked her up again.
He made his way toward the tunnels where the Preventer agents were leaving for different destinations, either the half-way house on the way to Central Command their underground headquarters, or to a small shuttle port or the parking garage.
By the time they arrived at the tunnels Sally's breathing was shallow gasps. Wufei swore at the blood soaking through the makeshift bandage as he set her carefully on the ground.
"You need a medic." Wufei glanced around.
"Let's just go Wufei," Sally's lips were compressed into a tight line.
Another Preventer pushed through the crowds streaming into the tunnels and knelt down by Sally. "Lieutenant Frances Escrovich." He said shortly. "I'm a paramedic." He examined the wound in Sally's side and then looked up at Wufei who was watching him closely. "I'm going to work on slowing the bleeding, but we need to get her someplace where she can have proper medical attention."
"We were supposed to go to the half-way house and then on to Central Command with Colonel Une." Wufei said.
"You can't carry her that far." Frances protested without looking up. "And she most definitely can't walk. Although," he added. "The half-way house would be the best place for her. I wouldn't really want to risk hospitals right now."
"Wait a minute!" Wufei spoke sharply. "There's that remodeled golf cart and trailer used to move stuff between here and Central Command. She could ride in the trailer to the half-way house."
"Good idea." Frances returned shortly.
Wufei hurried out and claimed the vehicle, shooing out several Preventers who thought they could hitch an easy ride. Then he and Frances got Sally comfortably situated in the trailer.
Wufei then slipped into the driver's seat and started the small golf cart while Frances squeezed himself into the trailer next to Sally. They quickly overtook and passed all the Preventers trudging to the half way house on foot. All moved out of the way for the vehicle while a few jokingly tried thumbing a ride. Wufei ignored them, intent on getting Sally to the house and the operational medical facility there.
***
Relena Dorlian Peacecraft glanced at her desk calendar and couldn't repress a smile. Christmas was only seven and some days away, while her holiday was only three days away. She had determined to take advantage of those precious vacation days and spend them with family and friends. She hardly ever saw Zechs anymore, what with his job at Preventer and her busy schedule. She missed him but was helpless to do anything about it.
Absently she picked up a pen, her mind still wandering. The household staff had done a wonderful job decorating the house for Christmas. The tree still had to be decorated though. Pagen had told her with a grandfatherly smile that they would wait until both siblings could help.
Relena propped her chin on her left hand, tapping the pen in time to the Christmas carol playing in her head, all the while staring at the red circled day on her calendar. Christmas always held a special place in her heart; it was so full of memories. Her smile turned a bit nostalgic.
"Hard at work I see," A voice spoke dryly from the door to her office.
Startled, Relena looked up to see her older brother smiling crookedly at her. "Zechs!" She couldn't help the squeal of excitement that invaded her voice as she pushed her chair back and went around her desk to give him a hug.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as she squeezed him hard.
"I have a meeting with some of the higher ups in E.S.U.N." He responded, returning her embrace. "I decided to drop by and see how you were doing."
"I'm glad you did." Relena's smile was a bit wobbly. "I barely see you anymore." Then a question that had been lurking in the back of her mind came to the front. "Will you be home to help decorate the tree before Christmas?"
Zechs smiled again. "I think I can manage to convince Lady Une to give me some time off for that." He patted her shoulder and turned to go. "Work hard." He called over his shoulder.
Relena shook her head. Her brother's humor was of the dry variety, the very dry variety. She sometimes had a hard time figuring out whether he was joking or serious. With a sigh she turned back to her desk, determined to keep her mind on her work this time. As always she was overloaded with paperwork that had to be done. Reseating herself she began, while at the same time slightly wondering what Zechs' meeting was about. Pushing the question away she concentrated solely on her work.
Right now she was perusing through all her messages marked urgent. Shaking her head she sighed. Everything seemed urgent these days. Some of the problems she was faced with seemed trivial though she gave everything her best effort.
Several hours later she sat back rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. The cup of coffee her secretary had provided sitting untouched by her right arm. There was a slight squabble between transport lines in two different colonies that she hoped wouldn't become any bigger, requiring her personal intervention. Why can't people just get along? She thought, slightly irritated.
The sound of her office door opening caught her attention. She glanced up, half expecting to see her brother come to say goodbye as he left. To her shock Heero Yuy stood there. One look at his face and she could tell his was no pleasure visit.
"Come."
Relena sat staring at him, bewilderment evident on her face. "What's going on?"
Heero let go of the door handle and took a couple steps into the room reaching out a hand to her. Again the simple command. "Relena, you have to come now."
Had she only imagined it or was there urgency in his tone? She stood, knowing Heero as she did she wouldn't put it past him to carry her out if she didn't come on her own accord.
He had already turned and was speaking quietly to her secretary, Jolene, in the other room. The woman nodded briefly from where she was pulling files out of a filing cabinet and piling them in a metal trash can.
"What's going on?" Relena asked again.
Both Heero and her secretary looked up at her. "Don't worry Ms. Peacecraft." Jolene's voice was calm as always. "You just go with Mr. Yuy."
In a daze Relena slipped on her coat and followed Heero out into the hall. Zechs met them there. To Relena's astonishment he pulled her in for a quick hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you little sister," he murmured. Then turning to Heero who was standing by impassively. "Get her out of here Yuy, I'll make sure no one follows you."
"Milliardo what's going on?" Relena's tone was anxious. Noises had begun to infiltrate her consciousness. Sounds of shouts and commands mixed with an occasional scream.
"Just go Relena." Zechs said. At the same time Heero grasped her arm and started walking down the hall.
"I love you Zechs." Relena called over her shoulder, half running to keep up with Heero's long strides.
Zechs watched until they disappeared around a corner, then he stepped into Relena's office. Already he could smell the acrid fumes from the fire burning in the trash can. "How's it coming?"
"Fine Wind." The young woman's fingers flew over her keyboard. "The computer system is almost useless and most of the important papers here have become ashes." She nodded toward the trash can.
"Good, finish in Relena's office as quickly as you can. We're going to have company soon." Zechs returned to the doorway to continue his vigil staring down the hall way.
The young undercover Preventer agent disappeared into Relena's private sanctum. Zechs could hear her pulling out file drawers and rummaging through papers. In a moment she came out with an armload that she dropped into the small fire. Soon all that remained was ashes. "All done."
Zechs nodded, his gaze fixed. "Not too soon either. Company's coming." There was a rustle of clothing and he glanced to his right to see his companion crouching down where she could safely shoot out of the doorway, but not be seen. Already she held a rather wicked looking little gun.
"It might be better if you played the part of the frightened secretary who doesn't know anything." Zechs muttered.
"Huh uh." She shook her head. "This is as much a part of my job description as it is yours."
"Fine," Zechs sighed. "You better shoot good then."
Meanwhile Relena panted slightly as she ran. Heero had let got of her arm but he hadn't slowed down one bit. If anything he had urged her to go faster as he led her down and out of the building through what looked to be a janitor's entrance. "Get in the car."
Relena obeyed, pulling open one of the back doors of the idling silver colored Toyota Camry. Heero tumbled in behind her slamming the door shut as the car shot forward, tumbling Relena off the seat.
Relena braced her feet against the floor, trying to keep from being tossed around. Buckling up was out of the question. She strained to see who the driver was and was met with a familiar dark brown braid. She shook her head. Who else but Duo would drive like that? She moved to get up all the way on the seat but was stopped by a strong hand. She looked at Heero with a question in her eyes.
"Wait."
Suddenly Duo stomped on the brake. "They've set up a roadblock, darn." He jerked the steering wheel hard to the left and shot forward into a small side street. "They want to make this hard don't they?" He muttered. He twisted the steering wheel violently again. Relena closed her eyes and prayed silently that they would all get out of this alive.
For a while all she could tell was that they were making a lot of sharp turns. Duo sounded stressed from the tone of his voice, she couldn't quite tell, but she thought he was swearing under his breath. Heero kept alternately looking out of the back window and then out of the front.
After a time, both Heero and Duo seemed to relax. "You can get up now." Heero's lips curled up in the closest thing to a smile coming from him. Relena sat on the seat with a sigh and smoothed out her dress. "NOW will somebody _ please_ tell me what's going on?" Her patience with this strange proceeding had reached its limit.
For a moment nobody spoke. Duo glanced at Heero in the rearview mirror, his face unnaturally somber. Relena glanced back and forth between the two.
"E.S.U.N was being attacked by what Preventer believed to be a small rogue organization. They turned out to be more. They go by the name Xousia." Heero didn't say any more.
"Xousia," Relena rolled the unfamiliar name over. "Who's in charge of it?"
This time Duo answered. "We don't really know. Course we assumed it was just another psycho malcontent with an axe to grind about the past."
"It might be." Relena sounded defeated. "Does Preventer know about the attack?"
"Probably." Duo's tone didn't invite anymore questions.
Relena sat back in her seat, her mind flying back to her brother. What are you doing now Zechs? Please, wherever you are, be safe. Just be safe..
***
Zechs was far from feeling safe, that is if he stopped to think about what he was feeling. He had learned a long time ago not to let feelings interfere with what had to be done. His primary goal was to make sure his sister got away safely.
The Xousia adherents had received a definite surprise when they ran around the corner into gunfire. Zechs and Jolene had given them no time to do anything. At first the Xousia enthusiasts had returned fire, but then their apparent leader had given an order. A couple dropped on the ground and began crawling forward as their team mates gave them cover fire.
Zechs was somewhat puzzled at their tactics. But he alternated firing at the back ups and at the few crawling toward them. The crawler's stopped and pulling guns commenced firing. Strangely, their firearms made no noise, but Zechs did not have time to comprehend this before he felt a stinging sensation in his right shoulder. Looking down he saw only a tiny spot of blood slowly spreading on his uniform. Unaccountably he began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Everything began to blur.
"Wind! WIND! Are you okay?" Jolene whispered urgently.
Zechs fumbled at his belt detaching something that he tossed toward the young agent. "Destroy communications." His words slurred slightly and he toppled over.
Jolene scrambled to retrieve the communicator and keyed in the destruction code all the while casting anxious glances toward her superior.
Their attackers wasted no time covering the short space in the hall to the office. Jolene looked up in time to receive a blow to the face. "Where's the Vice Foreign Minister?" Someone was yelling at her. She said nothing. The flurry of blows dazed her. She was pushed to the floor and roughly handcuffed. Vaguely she heard a woman's frightened voice speaking very fast and a rough command accompanied by running feet. Then she was hauled to her feet and dragged away.
***
"Here we are." Duo announced, cutting the engine. Relena looked around her, the group of buildings was familiar, she'd been in enough of them. One thing was wrong though. "A deserted shuttle port?" She asked half incredulously. "Yup. Best place for a shuttle to take off don't you think?" Duo's smile seemed a bit forced. Relena only nodded in reply.
The shuttle was a small unmarked civilian craft. Most of the comforts Relena was used to were sadly lacking. But she said nothing, it wasn't important.
After seeing her comfortably situated Heero exited the shuttle to have a private word with Duo. The American spoke quickly. "Xousia attacked Preventer Headquarters at about the same time they attacked E.S.U.N. Knowing their scorched earth policy Preventer would've had to move to Central Command." His tone was sober. "I'm going to check it out. See about Lady Une, Wufei.." His voice trailed off.
"Fine." Heero sounded emotionless as always. "Just don't be driving that car around." He turned to go but paused. "Check and see if you can find out what happened to Zechs."
Duo nodded a small grin stealing across his face as Heero disappeared inside the shuttle. Turning he trudged back to the car, pausing long enough to watch as the shuttle took off, gradually becoming a small pinpoint in the distance before disappearing totally. He started the engine and soon the port was as deserted as before.
***
Quatre Winner stared in sad disbelief at the single sheet of paper with only two lines written on it. He didn't stay that way for long. He wasn't really shocked anymore at what cruelty and pettiness the human being was capable of. Instead it saddened him that anyone would allow themselves to fall to such a level.
He couldn't spend much time thinking it over, there was too much to do. He didn't fool himself into thinking he would be overlooked. Because of his high profile job as CEO of Winner Enterprises and his history as a Gundam Pilot he was a deadly opponent.
For a moment he narrowed his eyes, a look coming over his face that didn't bode well for whoever had raised his indignation. Then he began to move swiftly. In half an hour Quatre Winner had disappeared from society.
I hope you will find this interesting reading. It has taken me a while to get it started and I would like to thank Trevor_X1 for his input. He certainly was a great help when I had questions that needed another brain to help answer.
And for any of you that wondered, Xousia is a Greek word that means power, authority, force, mastery. You get the picture. :-) It is pronounced zoo- see-ah.
Oh, anything within these two characters represents thought. Example: They are so cute! Thanks for reading!
Silent Night
Chapter 1
By: Starlight
Preventer had for many years been under the iron management of Lady Une. Following her leadership the giant security organization had run like a well oiled machine. Their security knowledge was second to none. Though they had not replaced local law enforcement agencies they continued keeping an eye on global affairs and beyond into the star filled wonder of space.
Today though chaos reigned. The imposing building housing Preventer headquarters was filled with running, people shouting, and an occasional burst of gunfire. Not even the strong leadership of Lady Une could quell the confusion. Preventer was slowly but surely being overrun by a rogue faction called Xousia.
For months they had been keeping an eye on what appeared to be just another small rebellion. People unwilling to let the past die. Unfortunately that had only been a cover for what turned out to be a well planned attack.
Sally Po and Chang Wufei were engaged in holding off a batch of Xousia adherents while some computer technicians were hurriedly working on shutting down Preventer's computer network.
"This is really annoying." Sally muttered as she fired off a round and then stepped back to let Wufei take his turn.
"I know." Wufei spoke calmly. His shot told and one of their attackers fell. He winced slightly as he continued. "But it would never do to let Xousia into our computer system. Imagine what they would do with all that sensitive information."
"I know that." Sally's voice sounded strained. "How're you coming?" She glanced over her shoulder at the technicians.
"Give us ten more seconds.." The head tech responded working with feverish haste. "Come on, come on.." He muttered.
"And.. we've.. got it!" one of his partners spoke triumphantly as all the monitors went blank. "They won't get nothing now."
"Get moving then!" Sally ordered. The technicians headed through a security door on the other side of the room. "Let's get out of here!" Sally glanced at Wufei.
"Right behind you Major." Wufei gave a slight smile.
Sally turned to follow the technicians when she suddenly gave a cry and fell to the ground clutching her left side. Blood ran over her hands and pooled on the floor beneath her.
"SALLY!" Wufei dropped to his knee beside his stricken partner. He turned his gaze out the doorway and fired. His aim was deadly and another one fell.
"Go on Wufei, leave me." Sally spoke through clenched teeth. Already black spots swirled in front of her eyes and she felt she would pass out from the pain.
"Over my dead body." Wufei's eyes were hard. Very gently he picked up his partner and slung her over his shoulder. She groaned once as he strode through the security door, slamming it shut behind him just as the enemy soldiers ran into the room. He could hear them pounding on the door and shouting, but it wouldn't do them any good. Those security doors were meant to last just about anything.
Wufei paused long enough to bandage Sally's wound. Ignoring her protestations that she would walk he picked her up again.
He made his way toward the tunnels where the Preventer agents were leaving for different destinations, either the half-way house on the way to Central Command their underground headquarters, or to a small shuttle port or the parking garage.
By the time they arrived at the tunnels Sally's breathing was shallow gasps. Wufei swore at the blood soaking through the makeshift bandage as he set her carefully on the ground.
"You need a medic." Wufei glanced around.
"Let's just go Wufei," Sally's lips were compressed into a tight line.
Another Preventer pushed through the crowds streaming into the tunnels and knelt down by Sally. "Lieutenant Frances Escrovich." He said shortly. "I'm a paramedic." He examined the wound in Sally's side and then looked up at Wufei who was watching him closely. "I'm going to work on slowing the bleeding, but we need to get her someplace where she can have proper medical attention."
"We were supposed to go to the half-way house and then on to Central Command with Colonel Une." Wufei said.
"You can't carry her that far." Frances protested without looking up. "And she most definitely can't walk. Although," he added. "The half-way house would be the best place for her. I wouldn't really want to risk hospitals right now."
"Wait a minute!" Wufei spoke sharply. "There's that remodeled golf cart and trailer used to move stuff between here and Central Command. She could ride in the trailer to the half-way house."
"Good idea." Frances returned shortly.
Wufei hurried out and claimed the vehicle, shooing out several Preventers who thought they could hitch an easy ride. Then he and Frances got Sally comfortably situated in the trailer.
Wufei then slipped into the driver's seat and started the small golf cart while Frances squeezed himself into the trailer next to Sally. They quickly overtook and passed all the Preventers trudging to the half way house on foot. All moved out of the way for the vehicle while a few jokingly tried thumbing a ride. Wufei ignored them, intent on getting Sally to the house and the operational medical facility there.
***
Relena Dorlian Peacecraft glanced at her desk calendar and couldn't repress a smile. Christmas was only seven and some days away, while her holiday was only three days away. She had determined to take advantage of those precious vacation days and spend them with family and friends. She hardly ever saw Zechs anymore, what with his job at Preventer and her busy schedule. She missed him but was helpless to do anything about it.
Absently she picked up a pen, her mind still wandering. The household staff had done a wonderful job decorating the house for Christmas. The tree still had to be decorated though. Pagen had told her with a grandfatherly smile that they would wait until both siblings could help.
Relena propped her chin on her left hand, tapping the pen in time to the Christmas carol playing in her head, all the while staring at the red circled day on her calendar. Christmas always held a special place in her heart; it was so full of memories. Her smile turned a bit nostalgic.
"Hard at work I see," A voice spoke dryly from the door to her office.
Startled, Relena looked up to see her older brother smiling crookedly at her. "Zechs!" She couldn't help the squeal of excitement that invaded her voice as she pushed her chair back and went around her desk to give him a hug.
"What are you doing here?" She asked as she squeezed him hard.
"I have a meeting with some of the higher ups in E.S.U.N." He responded, returning her embrace. "I decided to drop by and see how you were doing."
"I'm glad you did." Relena's smile was a bit wobbly. "I barely see you anymore." Then a question that had been lurking in the back of her mind came to the front. "Will you be home to help decorate the tree before Christmas?"
Zechs smiled again. "I think I can manage to convince Lady Une to give me some time off for that." He patted her shoulder and turned to go. "Work hard." He called over his shoulder.
Relena shook her head. Her brother's humor was of the dry variety, the very dry variety. She sometimes had a hard time figuring out whether he was joking or serious. With a sigh she turned back to her desk, determined to keep her mind on her work this time. As always she was overloaded with paperwork that had to be done. Reseating herself she began, while at the same time slightly wondering what Zechs' meeting was about. Pushing the question away she concentrated solely on her work.
Right now she was perusing through all her messages marked urgent. Shaking her head she sighed. Everything seemed urgent these days. Some of the problems she was faced with seemed trivial though she gave everything her best effort.
Several hours later she sat back rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. The cup of coffee her secretary had provided sitting untouched by her right arm. There was a slight squabble between transport lines in two different colonies that she hoped wouldn't become any bigger, requiring her personal intervention. Why can't people just get along? She thought, slightly irritated.
The sound of her office door opening caught her attention. She glanced up, half expecting to see her brother come to say goodbye as he left. To her shock Heero Yuy stood there. One look at his face and she could tell his was no pleasure visit.
"Come."
Relena sat staring at him, bewilderment evident on her face. "What's going on?"
Heero let go of the door handle and took a couple steps into the room reaching out a hand to her. Again the simple command. "Relena, you have to come now."
Had she only imagined it or was there urgency in his tone? She stood, knowing Heero as she did she wouldn't put it past him to carry her out if she didn't come on her own accord.
He had already turned and was speaking quietly to her secretary, Jolene, in the other room. The woman nodded briefly from where she was pulling files out of a filing cabinet and piling them in a metal trash can.
"What's going on?" Relena asked again.
Both Heero and her secretary looked up at her. "Don't worry Ms. Peacecraft." Jolene's voice was calm as always. "You just go with Mr. Yuy."
In a daze Relena slipped on her coat and followed Heero out into the hall. Zechs met them there. To Relena's astonishment he pulled her in for a quick hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you little sister," he murmured. Then turning to Heero who was standing by impassively. "Get her out of here Yuy, I'll make sure no one follows you."
"Milliardo what's going on?" Relena's tone was anxious. Noises had begun to infiltrate her consciousness. Sounds of shouts and commands mixed with an occasional scream.
"Just go Relena." Zechs said. At the same time Heero grasped her arm and started walking down the hall.
"I love you Zechs." Relena called over her shoulder, half running to keep up with Heero's long strides.
Zechs watched until they disappeared around a corner, then he stepped into Relena's office. Already he could smell the acrid fumes from the fire burning in the trash can. "How's it coming?"
"Fine Wind." The young woman's fingers flew over her keyboard. "The computer system is almost useless and most of the important papers here have become ashes." She nodded toward the trash can.
"Good, finish in Relena's office as quickly as you can. We're going to have company soon." Zechs returned to the doorway to continue his vigil staring down the hall way.
The young undercover Preventer agent disappeared into Relena's private sanctum. Zechs could hear her pulling out file drawers and rummaging through papers. In a moment she came out with an armload that she dropped into the small fire. Soon all that remained was ashes. "All done."
Zechs nodded, his gaze fixed. "Not too soon either. Company's coming." There was a rustle of clothing and he glanced to his right to see his companion crouching down where she could safely shoot out of the doorway, but not be seen. Already she held a rather wicked looking little gun.
"It might be better if you played the part of the frightened secretary who doesn't know anything." Zechs muttered.
"Huh uh." She shook her head. "This is as much a part of my job description as it is yours."
"Fine," Zechs sighed. "You better shoot good then."
Meanwhile Relena panted slightly as she ran. Heero had let got of her arm but he hadn't slowed down one bit. If anything he had urged her to go faster as he led her down and out of the building through what looked to be a janitor's entrance. "Get in the car."
Relena obeyed, pulling open one of the back doors of the idling silver colored Toyota Camry. Heero tumbled in behind her slamming the door shut as the car shot forward, tumbling Relena off the seat.
Relena braced her feet against the floor, trying to keep from being tossed around. Buckling up was out of the question. She strained to see who the driver was and was met with a familiar dark brown braid. She shook her head. Who else but Duo would drive like that? She moved to get up all the way on the seat but was stopped by a strong hand. She looked at Heero with a question in her eyes.
"Wait."
Suddenly Duo stomped on the brake. "They've set up a roadblock, darn." He jerked the steering wheel hard to the left and shot forward into a small side street. "They want to make this hard don't they?" He muttered. He twisted the steering wheel violently again. Relena closed her eyes and prayed silently that they would all get out of this alive.
For a while all she could tell was that they were making a lot of sharp turns. Duo sounded stressed from the tone of his voice, she couldn't quite tell, but she thought he was swearing under his breath. Heero kept alternately looking out of the back window and then out of the front.
After a time, both Heero and Duo seemed to relax. "You can get up now." Heero's lips curled up in the closest thing to a smile coming from him. Relena sat on the seat with a sigh and smoothed out her dress. "NOW will somebody _ please_ tell me what's going on?" Her patience with this strange proceeding had reached its limit.
For a moment nobody spoke. Duo glanced at Heero in the rearview mirror, his face unnaturally somber. Relena glanced back and forth between the two.
"E.S.U.N was being attacked by what Preventer believed to be a small rogue organization. They turned out to be more. They go by the name Xousia." Heero didn't say any more.
"Xousia," Relena rolled the unfamiliar name over. "Who's in charge of it?"
This time Duo answered. "We don't really know. Course we assumed it was just another psycho malcontent with an axe to grind about the past."
"It might be." Relena sounded defeated. "Does Preventer know about the attack?"
"Probably." Duo's tone didn't invite anymore questions.
Relena sat back in her seat, her mind flying back to her brother. What are you doing now Zechs? Please, wherever you are, be safe. Just be safe..
***
Zechs was far from feeling safe, that is if he stopped to think about what he was feeling. He had learned a long time ago not to let feelings interfere with what had to be done. His primary goal was to make sure his sister got away safely.
The Xousia adherents had received a definite surprise when they ran around the corner into gunfire. Zechs and Jolene had given them no time to do anything. At first the Xousia enthusiasts had returned fire, but then their apparent leader had given an order. A couple dropped on the ground and began crawling forward as their team mates gave them cover fire.
Zechs was somewhat puzzled at their tactics. But he alternated firing at the back ups and at the few crawling toward them. The crawler's stopped and pulling guns commenced firing. Strangely, their firearms made no noise, but Zechs did not have time to comprehend this before he felt a stinging sensation in his right shoulder. Looking down he saw only a tiny spot of blood slowly spreading on his uniform. Unaccountably he began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Everything began to blur.
"Wind! WIND! Are you okay?" Jolene whispered urgently.
Zechs fumbled at his belt detaching something that he tossed toward the young agent. "Destroy communications." His words slurred slightly and he toppled over.
Jolene scrambled to retrieve the communicator and keyed in the destruction code all the while casting anxious glances toward her superior.
Their attackers wasted no time covering the short space in the hall to the office. Jolene looked up in time to receive a blow to the face. "Where's the Vice Foreign Minister?" Someone was yelling at her. She said nothing. The flurry of blows dazed her. She was pushed to the floor and roughly handcuffed. Vaguely she heard a woman's frightened voice speaking very fast and a rough command accompanied by running feet. Then she was hauled to her feet and dragged away.
***
"Here we are." Duo announced, cutting the engine. Relena looked around her, the group of buildings was familiar, she'd been in enough of them. One thing was wrong though. "A deserted shuttle port?" She asked half incredulously. "Yup. Best place for a shuttle to take off don't you think?" Duo's smile seemed a bit forced. Relena only nodded in reply.
The shuttle was a small unmarked civilian craft. Most of the comforts Relena was used to were sadly lacking. But she said nothing, it wasn't important.
After seeing her comfortably situated Heero exited the shuttle to have a private word with Duo. The American spoke quickly. "Xousia attacked Preventer Headquarters at about the same time they attacked E.S.U.N. Knowing their scorched earth policy Preventer would've had to move to Central Command." His tone was sober. "I'm going to check it out. See about Lady Une, Wufei.." His voice trailed off.
"Fine." Heero sounded emotionless as always. "Just don't be driving that car around." He turned to go but paused. "Check and see if you can find out what happened to Zechs."
Duo nodded a small grin stealing across his face as Heero disappeared inside the shuttle. Turning he trudged back to the car, pausing long enough to watch as the shuttle took off, gradually becoming a small pinpoint in the distance before disappearing totally. He started the engine and soon the port was as deserted as before.
***
Quatre Winner stared in sad disbelief at the single sheet of paper with only two lines written on it. He didn't stay that way for long. He wasn't really shocked anymore at what cruelty and pettiness the human being was capable of. Instead it saddened him that anyone would allow themselves to fall to such a level.
He couldn't spend much time thinking it over, there was too much to do. He didn't fool himself into thinking he would be overlooked. Because of his high profile job as CEO of Winner Enterprises and his history as a Gundam Pilot he was a deadly opponent.
For a moment he narrowed his eyes, a look coming over his face that didn't bode well for whoever had raised his indignation. Then he began to move swiftly. In half an hour Quatre Winner had disappeared from society.